ICE New Orleans Detains 25 at Local Shipyard Immigration Violations

(HARVEY, LOUISIANA) Immigration and Customs Enforcement said authorities detained 25 Honduran nationals during an intelligence-driven worksite inspection at a local shipyard on October 30, 2025, after the employer failed to produce required hiring records. ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New Orleans led the action with support from Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), describing the inspection as part of a continuing push to police workplace hiring rules through I-9 audits and formal Notices of Inspection.

The operation focused on a Harvey shipyard that, according to ICE, did not provide Form I-9 employment verification documents and employee records when requested during the inspection. Officials said the detainees were identified as Honduran nationals without legal resident status, and that some had prior criminal offenses on record, including illegal entry, driving under the influence, and firearm discharge. The inspection and detentions underscore the agency’s broader strategy to target worksite violations while examining whether employers have complied with federal verification requirements.

HSI characterized the action as an employer-compliance initiative rooted in documentation checks—specifically the I-9 audits that test whether companies have the records they must keep for each employee. Notices of Inspection, or NOIs, are the formal mechanism ICE uses to require employers to present hiring and verification paperwork for review. When employers cannot produce those records, authorities may take further steps to determine whether unauthorized workers are on site and whether corporate practices violate federal law. ICE said the potential culpability of the employer at the Harvey shipyard remains under investigation as agents review the circumstances that led to the hiring of undocumented workers at the facility.

The 25 detentions follow a line of worksite enforcement actions where HSI and ERO coordinate to both inspect records and, when warranted, take custody of workers found to be in the country without status. In this case, ICE said the group included individuals with prior offenses tied to immigration and public safety, naming illegal entry, DUI, and firearm discharge as examples found in the records review. Officials said the arrests grew directly from the documentation gap at the shipyard, adding that the inspection was tailored using intelligence gathered by HSI New Orleans.

I-9 audits sit at the center of ICE’s employer-compliance strategy. Employers are expected to retain verification forms and supporting documents for each worker, and NOIs are the formal trigger for audits that test those records. According to ICE, the Harvey inspection advanced that strategy in a region where shipbuilding and repair facilities employ large crews, often through contractors and layered staffing arrangements. In the absence of the requested I-9 files and employee rosters, authorities escalated their review and detained 25 Honduran nationals on site.

The agency highlighted its IMAGE program, an outreach and compliance effort that pairs employers with federal authorities to improve hiring practices and verification systems. ICE said the Harvey action reflects an emphasis on pushing employers to adopt stronger verification habits and to cooperate during audits. The investigation into the shipyard’s practices remains open, with officials assessing whether the failure to provide Form I-9 records reflected poor record-keeping, willful noncompliance, or other lapses tied to the employment of unauthorized workers.

For workers and managers, the events at the Harvey shipyard show how fast an administrative check can turn into an enforcement operation when records are missing. HSI framed the inspection as intelligence-driven, indicating agents had specific reasons to review the site and its paperwork. ERO’s involvement signaled that authorities were prepared to take custody of workers lacking status, a step that can lead to removal proceedings depending on individual circumstances and prior histories. ICE said some of the Honduran nationals detained had prior offenses that included illegal entry, DUI, and firearm discharge, details that typically factor into custody and case-level decisions.

The focus on I-9 audits and NOIs has ripple effects beyond a single shipyard. Employers in similar industries often respond to such actions by reviewing their own files and training procedures, especially when audits reveal gaps in record production. ICE’s emphasis on the IMAGE program shows the agency wants companies to engage in preventative steps—document retention, internal checks, and clearer onboarding processes—before an NOI arrives. In Harvey, the missing records prompted a deeper dive that led to detentions and to an ongoing probe of the employer’s role, including how the shipyard staffed positions and whether subcontracting arrangements complicated verification duties.

HSI New Orleans described the October 30, 2025 inspection as part of its sustained focus on employer compliance rather than a one-off sweep. The agency’s framing places the Harvey shipyard within a broader federal approach that pairs document audits with targeted enforcement and case-by-case custody decisions. While the immediate outcome was the detention of 25 Honduran nationals, the longer tail of the case will turn on what investigators find in the employer’s systems and whether those findings result in civil penalties, compliance demands, or other measures. ICE’s statement that the employer’s potential culpability “remains under investigation” signals that additional action is possible once agents complete their review.

Communities around the West Bank of the Mississippi River, where the shipyard sits, often depend on industrial employers that run around-the-clock operations and rely on steady pipelines of skilled and semi-skilled labor. The Harvey inspection illustrates how federal scrutiny of hiring documents can intersect with local labor markets, particularly when workers are detained at the job site. In this instance, authorities specified the nationality of the group detained and noted the absence of legal resident status, while pointing to prior offenses among some detainees. Those details, ICE said, arose from records checks and the enforcement review that accompanied the inspection.

HSI’s description of the action as “intelligence-driven” suggests the case originated from specific leads or assessments about the shipyard’s compliance posture. That approach aligns with the agency’s stated focus on identifying worksites where I-9 audits and NOIs are most likely to uncover gaps. ERO’s support indicates the inspection was planned with possible arrests in mind, reflecting coordination between investigative and custody components during worksite operations.

The next steps in Harvey will likely revolve around the employer’s production—or lack—of Form I-9 files and employee lists, and whether ICE requires remedial measures under its compliance programs. ICE pointed to its IMAGE initiative as a path for employers to align hiring practices with federal expectations. The agency also cast the shipyard action as an example of holding employers accountable for the legal status of their workforce while using I-9 audits to surface potential violations. With the investigation ongoing, the case remains a touchstone for how documentation lapses can expose companies to enforcement and how quickly inspections can lead to detentions when workers lack status.

Officials did not release the name of the shipyard, and no timetable was publicly set for concluding the employer investigation. The October 30, 2025 inspection, however, reinforced HSI New Orleans’ message that I-9 audits and NOIs will continue as central tools for workplace enforcement. As the employer inquiry proceeds, the detentions of 25 Honduran nationals from the Harvey shipyard mark a concrete outcome of a record-focused operation that began with a request for verification forms and ended with workers in federal custody.

For employers seeking baseline requirements on hiring records, the official Form I-9 instructions are maintained by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and can be accessed here: Form I-9. ICE said the Harvey inspection fits within its sustained effort to ensure companies keep those records available and up to date—and that it will scrutinize worksites where documentation is incomplete, particularly in high-demand sectors such as shipbuilding and repair.