Texas Couplings, 1835 Old Holzwarth Rd., is shown in Spring, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. Federal agents detained 20 people late Tuesday while investigating alleged employment paperwork violations at an industrial manufacturer in Spring, officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed Wednesday.Melissa Phillip/Houston ChronicleFederal agents detained 20 people late Tuesday while investigating alleged employment paperwork violations at an industrial manufacturer in Spring, officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed Wednesday.Those detained were taken to a Conroe facility for administrative immigration violations, according to an ICE spokesperson. He did not identify any criminal charges facing those taken into custody. Investigators visited Texas Couplings LLC Tuesday after an I-9 audit found discrepancies with the business, the spokesperson said. An I-9 form is a document to verify employment eligibility.Article continues below this adThe raid is the first known in Houston not targeting those charged with crimes. In a video shared Tuesday on Facebook, family members could be heard crying as their relatives are loaded onto vans. At one point one remarked that the people being taken do not have criminal records. Law enforcement in the video were in unmarked vehicles, had their faces covered and refused to give names or badge numbers. Elizabeth Maldonado, who lives down the street from Texas Couplings, said she was leaving her house to run errands when she saw six or seven women sobbing on the street. That’s when she noticed two vans parked outside the business, with a handful of agents in bulletproof vests milling about.Houston Chronicle LogoMake us a Preferred Source on Google to see more of us when you search.Add Preferred SourceMaldonado said she stopped and offered to pray for the women, but they were too upset to speak with her. She was shocked to learn that 20 people were arrested, but said she had noticed that other businesses in the area that were usually open on a Wednesday afternoon were closed today.“Immigrants around here never cause any trouble, sometimes they play their music loud but that’s it,” Maldonado said. “It’s very painful, that’s why I wanted just to get down and pray for them and give them a hug.”Article continues below this adWork appeared to be carrying on as normal Wednesday at Texas Couplings. A supervisor on site declined to comment on any immigration enforcement at the business.The federal spokesman declined to provide further information about the operation, saying the investigation remained ongoing as of Wednesday afternoon.President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, said ahead of the November election that the administration might target employers that hire workers in the country without permission. He said those businesses might face severe fines and their employees deported.Some states require employers to verify documents given to them by potential workers through a system called E-Verify, which allows companies to match information from I-9 forms with records from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration. In 2015, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill requiring state agencies and universities to use the system. However, laws requiring private businesses to use the system have failed to pass out of the Texas Legislature.Article continues below this adMultiple, similarly worded, bills have been filed this year proposing that Texas expand the requirement to private employers, as well as state contractors and political agencies. This is a developing story. March 5, 2025ReporterMatt DeGrood is a general assignment and breaking news reporter for the Houston Chronicle. A graduate of the University of Dallas, he joined the Chronicle in 2022. He has reported for community newspapers across Texas, including the Galveston County Daily News, the Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel and the Fort Bend Star.ReporterSam González Kelly is a demographics reporter for the Houston Chronicle, focusing on issues of race, class, migration and inequality in one of the fastest-growing regions of the United States. His work aims to show how Houston is changing politically, culturally and economically, and how the choices made by local decision makers ripple through different communities. A Chicago native, Sam joined the Chronicle in 2021 and covered marginalized communities for two years before taking a role as education reporter, covering the Houston Independent School District's first year under state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles. He has a bachelor's degree from Pomona College and worked at the Chicago Sun-Times prior to arriving in Houston.ReporterJohn Wayne Ferguson is a general assignment and breaking news reporter for the Houston Chronicle. A graduate of the University of New Hampshire, John joined the Chronicle in 2022. He was previously a reporter at The Galveston County Daily News. Follow him on Twitter at @johnwferguson.