Body camera footage offers a rare look inside a September 2025 immigration raid at a snack-food factory in Cato, New York, where federal authorities made 57 arrests. The video, part of a lawsuit filed Thursday, shows agents from multiple agencies arriving at the Nutrition Bar Confectioners plant and detaining employees over several hours. The lawsuit accuses authorities of exceeding the scope of their search warrants and infringing on workers' constitutional rights.
According to the footage, agents entered the facility after a manager opened the front door, announcing their presence over loudspeakers. Officers were seen apprehending employees on the production line, in the warehouse, and in bathrooms. Exits were secured while agents swept the interior, including attempting to access locked doors. In one instance, male officers forced entry into a locked bathroom where female employees were present, with body camera video capturing a brief exchange when an officer asked a woman to exit the stall while she stated she could not do so while undressed.
Investigators questioned the general manager about hiring practices and potentially fraudulent documents. Employees were lined up, separated into groups based on U.S. citizenship and suspected immigration status, and asked for identification and details about their entry into the U.S. Some pregnant employees and parents expressed concerns for their children, while others stated they would only answer questions after speaking with an attorney. One employee's request to speak with an attorney was met with increased questioning about her immigration status.
U.S. citizens were required to provide personal information before being permitted to leave. The lawsuit, filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union and the Worker Justice Center of New York, states that federal officers detained approximately 60 people and arrested 57, with criminal charges ultimately brought against only five, the most serious being unlawful reentry. The suit claims that no arrest warrants were issued and there was no suspicion of individual workers committing crimes, with many detained for nonconsensual questioning.
One plaintiff in the lawsuit had charges dismissed after asserting a Fourth Amendment violation. Attorneys for the plaintiffs are seeking the return of a second deported plaintiff. The raid occurred at a plant in Cato, a town of 2,500 people located east of Syracuse.
The body camera video also captured a Border Patrol agent making disparaging remarks about children from certain countries, referencing his experience at a South Texas detention center. He described children from these nations as being treated like "animals" and suggested they would pose a threat to American children.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations unit is responsible for workplace raids. The Trump administration previously conducted a large-scale raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia, resulting in nearly 500 arrests. The lawsuit contends that federal officers' actions during the Nutrition Bar Confectioners raid violated workers' Fourth Amendment rights against unlawful search and seizure.