Two Texas bakery owners have been charged with felony offenses after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) conducted a raid and arrested eight suspected illegal immigrants working at their business, the Texas Tribune reports.

Leonardo Baez and Nora Alicia Avila-Guel, the owners of Amy’s Bakery, admitted to federal authorities that they were aware their employees were in the U.S. illegally, according to a federal complaint. Two of the detained workers also told investigators that the owners knowingly employed them despite their immigration status.

BREAKING: ICE conducted a worksite raid at a bakery in Texas. They arrested 8 illegal aliens and charged the owners with harboring and aiding illegal aliens.

The owners were charged with 8 USC 1324. This is the same statute Tom Homan has referenced multiple times.

Deport them… pic.twitter.com/PRjhcaxqia

— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) February 21, 2025

Baez and Avila-Guel are now facing charges under 8 USC 1324, which prohibits the harboring, concealing, or aiding of illegal immigrants. The federal complaint states that a duty Assistant U.S. Attorney reviewed the case and determined there was sufficient cause to prosecute the bakery owners.

Abby's Bakery Los Fresnos, Texas admitting EVERY SINGLE EMPLOYEE was illegal and taken by ICE

“They took all the workers from here”

The business has already been updated on Google to say “Temporarily closed” pic.twitter.com/7PDgU9jlg3

— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) February 15, 2025

Prosecutions of business owners for employing illegal immigrants have been uncommon in the past, but the Trump administration has taken a more aggressive stance on immigration enforcement. Upon taking office, President Donald Trump issued an executive order declaring an emergency at the southern border as part of his broader efforts to address illegal immigration.

As part of this enforcement strategy, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. CQ Brown visited the U.S.-Mexico border last week to review progress on border fortifications, The Associated Press reported. Additionally, the administration has designated eight gangs and cartels, including Tren de Aragua and MS-13, as foreign terrorist organizations, expanding the government’s authority to act against these groups.