Bakery owners in Texas are facing felony charges after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) raided their store and arrested eight suspected illegal immigrants.

Lawful permanent residents Leonardo Baez and Nora Alicia Avila-Guel, the owners of Amy’s Bakery named in the federal complaint, admitted to knowing their employees were in the U.S. illegally. 

Two of the suspected illegal immigrants allegedly confirmed to HSI that the owners knew about their status and “willfully” harbored them.

Officers from Homeland Security and the FBI conduct immigration enforcement in El Paso, Texas, on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (FBI)

As part of this border crackdown, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. CQ Brown visited the U.S.-Mexico border on Friday to assess troops’ progress on fortifying the border wall, The Associated Press reported.

This aerial picture taken on Dec. 8, 2023 shows the U.S.-Mexico border wall in Sasabe, Arizona. (VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)

Additionally, the Trump administration designated eight gangs and cartels, including Tren de Aragua and MS-13, as foreign terrorist organizations, which expands the government’s ability to act against criminal groups operating in the country.