LONGMONT, Colo.—Immigration officials arrested 18 people Wednesday in a raid at a concrete plant in Loveland Wednesday.
An advocacy group criticized the raid, saying immigration reform rather than raids that separate families are needed.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the 18 workers arrested were in the country illegally. One was from El Salvador and the rest were from Mexico.
ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok said the 18 will be interviewed, fingerprinted and then held at the Park County jail. He said they’ll be returned to their home country or appear before an immigration judge who will determine their fate.
ICE said Colorado Precast Concrete Inc. cooperated as agents executed a search warrant at the plant. No criminal charges are expected against the company.
The Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition said the arrests separated dozens of families and workers.
“Raids are not the solution to the outdated and dysfunctional U.S. immigration system,” said Kim Medina of Fuerza Latina, an advocacy group in Fort Collins and Loveland. “We need a complete reform of our immigration laws.”
Julien Ross of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition said he is encouraged that both presidential candidates agree that comprehensive immigration reform is needed. He said his group plans to march in Denver during the Democratic National Convention in March.
“If we want to uphold the American values of family, work and community,” Ross said, “we can do much, much better.”
