Facing months in jail, workers arrested at a popular Chinese buffet have instead chosen “voluntary departure” back to Indonesia. However, the ICE raid did not reveal evidence of human trafficking or criminal enterprise.

On Sept. 2, agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided a St. Peters restaurant and arrested more than a dozen workers. The Golden Apple Buffet's employees hailed from several countries, including China, Mexico and Indonesia. Some have now spent weeks detained and awaiting deportation.

But the raid did not reveal evidence of human trafficking or any criminal enterprise, said Jim Hacking, an immigration lawyer representing 10 workers.

The raid didn't target just the Golden Apple Buffet. ICE agents used battering rams to enter homes in St. Charles where

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