20 detained in Spring manufacturing facility as part of I-9 audit immigration raid, officials say

SPRING, Texas (KTRK) -- A group of 20 people were detained on Tuesday at a manufacturing facility in Spring.

All 20 detained at Texas Couplings LLC were taken to a Conroe facility, according to ICE spokesperson Timothy Oberle.

Oberle did not identify whether any of them are facing any criminal charges.

One woman whose father was taken into custody was able to record some of the raid on her phone. She said her father has been an employee at the facility for 15 years.

In the video, family members of the detained can be heard sobbing and asking agents where their loved ones would be held.

"I was just in shock," a woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, said.

She said her sister was the one who alerted her to the raid after driving by and seeing law enforcement activity. Her first move was to call the office.

"He said just be weary coming here because immigration is here. I can't say anything else. I said, but my dad is okay? Yeah. He said, your dad is not on their list, so he should be fine," the woman said.

Oberle said the raid was part of a worksite enforcement operation. The ICE spokesperson went on to say discrepancies were allegedly found on-site during an I-9 audit. An I-9 form is a document to verify identity and employment eligibility.

"There must have been some red flag to bring this to the forefront, to bring that specific company to the forefront," immigration attorney Kim Bruno said.

Bruno said raids like this don't happen often in Houston. It came as a shock even with the very clear messaging from the Trump administration.

"It seems like this is yet another statement that the government is making," Bruno said.

What Bruno is used to seeing are federal agents targeting those charged with crimes.

"The only thing I can think of is maybe this company had people who were using falsified documents," Bruno said.

When ABC13 managed to reach the company by phone and ask about the raid, the person who answered said no comment and abruptly hung up.

In Texas, state agencies and universities are required by law to use a system called E-Verify, which companies can use to match information from I-9 forms to government records. However, no such law exists for private employers.

The woman that ABC13 spoke to said to her father's knowledge, his company did not use E-Verify, however, she did acknowledge he is undocumented.

"I do understand policies are in place. it just sucks that it was my family and my dad's friends and coworkers that got affected by this," the woman said.

The woman said family members were able to visit her father. He is considered what is "low scale" and is not being kept in handcuffs. She said they are also providing the 65-year-old with necessary medical attention.

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