The raid on Thursday morning last week was the result of a six-month investigation by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office after they received a tip off through an immigration hotline.
Armed with search warrants, they investigated the files of 35 workers and detained 24 on suspicion of providing false papers to work illegally in the US, and possible identity theft.
LMI Solutions, formerly known as Lasermasters supply recycled and remanufactured toner cartridges and also provide managed print services.
Because of its proximity to the American-Mexican border, Arizona is a hotspot for illegal workers. Sheriff Joe Arpaio of MCSO said that 362 undocumented immigrants have been arrested in previous raids.
As reported by the Recycler in 2008 a similar raid on Micro Solutions Enterprises in California saw 130 employees being taken into custody for immigration violations.
An anonymous LMI employee who was present during the raid told Phoenix’s 3TV the officers had conducted themselves poorly, bursting in and shouting “Where are the rats hiding?”, but the allegation was denied by MCSO.
“We went in very, very professionally. We did not draw our guns even though 10 people were escaping, trying to escape. We still did not draw our guns,” Sheriff Arpaio told 3TV. “We know what we did, and the people inside know what we did.
“The bottom line is we came in here, enforcing the laws, executing search warrants, and you’re always going to have some critics make up stories,” he continued.
The Recycler has contacted LMI for comment on the incident and is awaiting response.