State Rep. expresses outrage after ICE detains man after operation at local business

Authorities have placed one man into custody in an operation that led a local politician to be outraged.

On Tuesday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents conducted an enforcement action in Warren, Rhode Island, targeting workers at or near Blount Seafood Corp., a prominent clam shack and seafood wholesaler on Water Street.

According to eyewitness accounts and local reports, agents detained at least one undocumented man, pulling him from his vehicle during the operation, which lasted several hours.

The incident is part of a broader ICE sweep in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, focusing on immigrant labor who are in the country illegally, amid heightened enforcement under the Trump administration.

Rhode Island State Representative Jason Knight (D-Warren) voiced strong outrage on social media, criticizing the tactics used.

“I am outraged about what happened today, on Veterans Day, in Warren, a community that I represent. ICE showed up on Water Street. They spent hours inside their unmarked cars outside Blount Seafood, which as I understand only employs people with valid work permits. ICE agents swooped in and pulled a man from his car and took him away. These tactics don’t do anything to meaningfully improve public safety, but they scare the hell out of the community and are inhumane and unAmerican. We all need to raise our voices and fight back against this b******* from Trump and his lawless administration.”

ICE has not yet released details on the incident.