16 immigrants arrested during ICE inspection at MS Coast business, federal authorities say
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 16 immigrants from Mexico and Central America this week during an inspection of a concrete contracting business in Pass Christian, federal authorities announced Wednesday.
Agents with ICE and local Border Patrol and Drug Enforcement Administration authorities were serving paperwork to inspect Gulf Coast Prestress Partners when they saw a group running from the back of the business, a news release said.
Agents stopped 18 citizens of Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras, according to the release. They released two people with immigration court dates and work authorization.
One of the people arrested was a 16-year-old from Mexico, the news release said.
Agents had been at the business to give it a notice of inspection and interview employees when the arrests took place, authorities said.
Gulf Coast Prestress Partners provides concrete parts for bridges, buildings, and the marine and petrochemical industries, according to its website. Established in 1967, the business is on North Market Street in Pass Christian.
The company’s attorney, Damian Holcomb, said the company uses a third-party staffing agency to hire employees. As a result, he said, the company had no information to indicate some of the workers were undocumented immigrants.
“The information we had was all good,” Holcomb said. “When we hired them, we were assured that everything cleared a background check.”
The third-party vendor, which was not identified, is responsible “for verifying employment eligibility.”
“Gulf Coast Prestress maintains strict hiring policies that comply with all federal, state, and local employment laws, including the verification of work authorization,” he said. “We rely on reputable staffing agencies to meet workforce needs, and we expect them to uphold the same legal and ethical standards.”
To try to ensure workforce compliance, Holcomb said the company uses the I-9 employment verification forms for employees and an online system called E-Verify, which compares I-9 verification forms with government records to ensure employees are authorized to work in the United States.
Since this week’s raid, Holcomb said the company launched an internal review of the hiring process and is cooperating with investigators on the criminal investigation.
“Additionally, we are reevaluating our agreements with staffing partners to ensure stronger compliance measures are in place moving forward,” he said. “We remain committed to legal and ethical employment practices and will take all necessary steps to prevent similar occurrences in the future. Our priority is maintaining a compliant, responsible, and fair workplace for all employees”
The arrests appear to be among the first major enforcement operations in South Mississippi since the Trump administration vowed this year to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.
Federal authorities also announced Jan. 31 that five undocumented immigrants were arrested after they ran from agents in Gulfport.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
This story was originally published February 26, 2025 at 2:10 PM.