U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced Monday that a raid in Santa Maria last week that attracted a crowd of protesters stemmed from a visa fraud investigation.
Rutilio Vázquez, who lives in the East Valley Farms neighborhood, says federal agents arrived at 5:30 a.m. Thursday, with bright lights, drones, and loud commands as they ordered people to exit one of the properties.
“When they talk, they say that we are federal police or something like that. ‘We want you to come out with hands on your head,’” he told KSBY News in Spanish.
ICE reports that three undocumented people from Mexico and one U.S. citizen were arrested. Investigators allege a labor recruiter named Jorge Vasquez collected illegal fees – in one case up to $8,000, including a $1,000 upfront deposit – in exchange for the opportunity to work in the U.S. under H-2A visas.
According to ICE, the money was deducted from the farm workers’ wages and the workers were threatened with violence or deportation if they failed to comply or complained to government inspectors.
During the raid, multiple community members arrived, attempting to confront law enforcement. Federal agents deployed flash-bangs in an attempt to disperse the crowd.
WATCH: Residents confront ICE agents during Santa Maria raid
Vázquez says he was questioned that morning about his immigration status and confirmed to officers he was undocumented. However, “one of the officers came up to me and said, ‘Don’t be afraid, because we’re not going to deport you to Mexico. We only have a problem with one person who lives here. We came for those people,’” he recalled.
Vázquez says that while he wasn’t taken into custody, agents did take his children’s Social Security cards and some other personal items like laptops, purses, and cell phones, which have not yet been returned.
According to ICE, the arrests are part of a larger effort involving Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of Labor, and the Department of State, focusing on foreign labor contracting and visa compliance.
