Protesters denounce ICE arrests at St. Louis Park manufacturing facility
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Dozens of people gathered outside a St. Louis Park aluminum finishing facility Wednesday night to protest recent federal immigration arrests at the company.
Seven people were arrested at HardCoat Inc., according to advocacy organizations working with the families of the people arrested.
Ryan Perez is the organizing director at COPAL, a Latino advocacy nonprofit. He gave the crowd an account of the arrests, which he said a company employee shared with him.
“She reported that there were vehicles on all sides, on all corners of this lot here, and she even reported that she believed ICE agents had been on the roof,” Perez said. “Then ICE entered and dragged out basically one employee at a time.”
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Employees said the company recently audited the staff’s immigration documents. Employees received a notice two weeks before the raid of an I-9 audit, which they shared with advocates and reporters. The note told employees to prepare residency documents, like a driver’s license, a green card or a valid visa.
Perez said he’s familiar with the audit process.
“Usually what would happen is… employees who don’t have the right paperwork, you would just terminate them,” Perez said.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents made the arrests shortly after the audit, according to employees and advocates. The woman who worked at the company told Perez that the atmosphere was tense in the days after the audit leading up to the arrests.
Perez said additional HardCoat employees who were not arrested were fired, including the woman who recounted the story of the arrests. Perez said she, and other employees, didn’t want to appear at the protest out of fear of further ICE enforcement.
Advocates and employees said they aren’t sure why ICE made arrests at HardCoat. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The identities of the people arrested have not been released.
Kevin Huynh works with Minnesota 8, an immigration advocacy organization. He read a statement from the nephew of a man who was arrested.
“That evening, I had to go pick up his car from his workplace,” the person said. “Driving home alone in his car felt very surreal. When I opened up the glove compartment and saw his photos in there, I felt like maybe I’ll never see him again.”
Huynh urged businesses to do what they can to protect employees.
“I want businesses and workers to think really seriously about what is the protocol they have when ICE enters,” Huynh said. “How do customers feel safe? How do workers feel safe going to work?”
Advocates noted other recent ICE arrests at workplaces in Rochester and Duluth. They said that’s caused anxiety for workers and customers. In the Twin Cities, Latino business owners say business has slowed since President Donald Trump’s inauguration amid worry about executive orders calling for tightened immigration enforcement.
Perez said this is the biggest ICE arrest he’s heard of in the Twin Cities area since Trump’s inauguration.
“This is not good for business, this is not good for Minnesota, this is not good for immigrants and this is not good for the families impacted,” Perez said.
