Video from a massive ICE-led workplace raid shows federal agents surrounding a North Carolina fire-equipment manufacturer before taking 30 people into custody. The operation at Buckeye Fire Equipment Company occurred on June 25th, 2025. Federal authorities said the search concerned allegations of aggravated identity theft and possible federal crimes connected to unauthorized employment.
The raid unfolded at Buckeye Fire Equipment’s plant on Kings Road in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, a perennial presidential battleground state. Homeland Security Investigations led the operation with help from the FBI, DEA, IRS, ATF, U.S. Marshals Service, Customs and Border Protection, North Carolina National Guard, and local authorities. Roughly 300 employees were reportedly inside the sprawling facility when agents arrived.
“Feds say they believe the company has been hiring illegal immigrants,” Queen City News reporter Robin Kanady said from outside the building as the raid continued. “ICE says the search warrant is for aggravated identity theft.” Aerial footage showed tents that appeared to serve as staging areas while groups of people stood outside the large manufacturing complex.
ICE later said agents executed a federal search warrant as part of an “active, ongoing criminal investigation.” The agency reported that 30 people were arrested at the site. “Identity fraud is not a victimless crime,” HSI Charlotte Special Agent in Charge Cardell Morant said. “It fuels a range of criminal activity and puts innocent people at risk.”
Kanady also described speaking with a woman who rushed to the facility after receiving a message from her mother, a Buckeye employee. “Her mom texted her and said there is an ICE raid going on here,” she said. According to the daughter, employees were being divided “into groups of five” while agents checked their identification, which was the last update she had received from her mother.
One employee later said workers were kept together for about an hour before being questioned individually, and those whose legal status was verified received blue wristbands. ICE subsequently released footage showing agents presenting the warrant, collecting phones and other items, and escorting people from the plant in handcuffs. Local outlet WFAE reported that detainees were transferred to federal detention centers in Georgia, while Buckeye did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Watch the operation and the on-scene report here:
"*" indicates required fields
The investigation soon produced federal criminal cases. On July 31st, 2025, the Justice Department announced that Jose De La Cruz-Lopez, a Mexican national who was not authorized to work in the United States, pleaded guilty to misusing a Social Security number and using false immigration identification documents to obtain employment at Buckeye. Seven additional defendants were charged following the search, and the department said two of them had also entered guilty pleas by the time of its announcement.
U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson said the investigation was continuing and warned employers to scrutinize suspicious hiring documents. He said identity theft damages its victims while compromising employment laws and the hiring process. “Identity theft is a pervasive problem that can wreak havoc on a victim’s life,” Ferguson said.
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.