SEATTLE — In what appears to be the first full-scale workplace raid in Washington since President Donald Trump took office, immigration officials descended on a roofing company in Bellingham on Wednesday and arrested 37 people.

Those arrested are accused of misrepresenting their immigration status and submitting fraudulent documents to seek employment, according to a statement released by an ICE spokesperson.

Despite Trump’s pledge to carry out mass deportations, Washington has until now not seen raids of this kind, according to numerous immigration lawyers and advocates.

Rosalinda Guillén, founder of the Bellingham-based social justice group Community to Community, said many were wondering when such actions would start. “We were kind of waiting,” she said.

Still, said Edgar Franks, political director for the farmworkers union Familias Unidas por la Justicia, the raid at Mt. Baker Roofing came as a shock, especially given the immigrant-friendly policies of Washington officials. “We had hoped the governor and attorney general would do more to protect workers,” Franks said.

Federal authorities have authority to enforce immigration law, however, even in states like Washington considered “sanctuary” jurisdictions because they restrict local cooperation with such enforcement. Wednesday’s arrest was carried out by ICE, U.S. Border Patrol and U.S. Customers Border Protection Air and Marine Operations. Officers from these agencies had a federal search warrant, according to the ICE statement.

The statement cast the raid as part of investigations into “worksite violations and/or the exploitation of workers.”

“Worksite enforcement investigations focus on reducing illegal employment, holding employers accountable and protecting employment opportunities for the country’s lawful workforce,” the statement said.

About two dozen Mt. Baker Roofing workers held a work stoppage in 2023, alleging they were not provided bathrooms, breaks and water, according to the Cascadia Daily News. Owner Mark Kuske said the allegations were untrue.

At that time, the more than 40-year-old roofing company had 113 employees, he told the Cascadia Daily News.

Reached Wednesday, Kuske declined to immediately comment and said he would provide a written statement later in the day.

Many immigrant advocates and community members learned about the raid from a Facebook Live video taken by someone who said she was the aunt of a worker who had been detained and was standing outside the roofing company’s offices.

The video shows a handful of men in vests bearing the word “police” on the back standing outside a workplace. Their faces were covered. Parked nearby were numerous unmarked vans and a white bus.

“Don’t give up,” the woman who took the video shouted in Spanish to any workers who could hear her. Their only crime was coming here to work, she said.

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