Following a monthslong investigation, federal immigration officers performed a targeted raid at Lamell Lumber in Essex on Saturday, arresting several migrant workers.

While U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has accelerated its arrests of migrants in Vermont in recent months, advocates say the raid marks a new tactic.

“ICE arrests at the workplace are still not the norm,” said Will Lambek with Migrant Justice, a group that advocates for immigrant workers. “Most arrests are conducted in public places, so this is something of a departure from what we are usually seeing.”

According to Lambek, the officers arrested three men. The raid follows an investigation of Lamell Lumber’s employment practices, during which the federal Homeland Security Investigations unit in Burlington allegedly

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