ICE conducted a coordinated roadside arrest operation targeting construction workers in Hardwick (Caledonia County), intercepting 9 workers in 5 vehicles.

The Operation

• Date: September 26, 2025, starting shortly after 7 a.m.
• Location: Route 15, east side of Hardwick, VT
• Method: ICE agents in unmarked vehicles conducted traffic stops; one person picked up at a gas station
• Intelligence: Agents clearly had prior information about people’s vehicles and were tracking them
• Workers: 9 residents of Hardwick, from Colombia, Nicaragua, and Ecuador; all formerly on the same construction crew

Outcome

• 7 transported to Louisiana detention facility for deportation processing
• 1 released before being jailed on September 26
• 1 remained in Vermont
• All 7 in Louisiana had legal representation

Local Police Role

Hardwick Police Chief Michael Henry said:

• ICE called dispatch in advance to notify them of the operation
• Hardwick police played no role in the enforcement action

Significance

• Second-largest known enforcement action in Vermont at the time (after the April 2025 dairy farm raid)
• Demonstrated ICE’s shift from border-proximate farm raids to interior enforcement against construction workers
• Transfer to Louisiana (far from Vermont attorneys and families) is a recurring pattern

Sources:

• Vermont Public — Immigration agents arrest 9 construction workers in Hardwick
• WCAX — 9 detained in Hardwick ICE enforcement sweep
• The Hardwick Gazette — Seven detained foreigners being deported