ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, raided the Load Trail facility in Sumner, Texas near Paris Tuesday. Over 160 individuals were detained. According to reports, more than 100 people detained were suspected of using fraudulent identification. The Sumner, Tx facility raided manufactures small trailers. It is a separate manufacturing line than the one being built in Sulphur Springs. The Sulphur Springs facility will build 53-foot dump trailers.
According to the Sulphur Springs/Hopkins County EDC, the local facility under construction is a separate entity within the parent Load Trail Company. Construction work at the local facility continues as of Wednesday morning, August 29th 2018.
The company has paid just under one half million dollars in fines for hiring undocumented workers.
Load Trail has faced penalties in the past for hiring undocumented workers. The company has paid just under one half million dollars in fines for hiring undocumented workers.
The ICE raid included 300 agents transported by helicopter and other means. Local law enforcement in Lamar County were not notified prior to the raid. According to local law enforcement, law enforcement will always be unaware of any ICE raid until the raid begins. According to reports, this is the largest raid by ICE in the past 10 years.
Load Trail is known world-wide for the manufacture of trailers and dump trailers. It is considered one of the fastest growing companies in trailer manufacturing. The facility being built in Sulphur Springs will be located in Heritage Business Park, off Loop 301 near Raven Industries and Armorock Polymer Concrete. The local facility will be housed in a 150,000 square feet building and new jobs at the facility will total 150 once it is in full production.
