Guatemalan laborers get surprise visit from federal agents during home renovation: ‘We left home’

A video from a home renovation site in Maryland has gone viral over the detainment of several Guatemalan laborers.

On Monday morning, a group of men showed up to remodel a family home in Cambridge, Maryland. According to one of the workers, it did not take long for the job to turn into a federal investigation.

‘The owner of the house kind of called immigration.’

The men had reportedly traveled about an hour and a half from Glen Burnie to Cambridge to complete a remodeling job on a house that included roofing.

As the men were on the roof, agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement appeared and began calling the laborers to come down.

Video of the exchange, posted online, was reportedly recorded by one of the workers, Bryan Polanco, who claimed the homeowner had notified authorities.

“We practically had a project to start today … when they started the work, the owner of the house kind of called immigration,” Polanco told N+ Univision DC, according to a translation.

Six Guatemalan workers, reportedly between 18 and 40 years old, were subsequently detained by ICE. Polanco was not detained because he is said to be a permanent resident.

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The viral video, which has been seen nearly 5 million times, contains claims from Polanco that ICE agents are “just hurting working people” who “contribute positively” to the United States.

Polanco also described the homeowner as harboring hate for the workers.

“Instead of going out and looking for criminals on the streets — for drug addicts — they come here to screw over people who are just trying to work. And it’s that same woman. … We were fixing up her house, and yet she still harbors such hatred in her heart.”

Polanco went on to tell Univision that the homeowner told him that “if immigrants return again to finish the project, she will always call ICE.”

The worker continued to conflate legal workers with illegal immigrants, telling the outlet, “Many Hispanics here in the United States have felt persecuted. We left home, and we don’t know if we are going to return.”

“Seeing it is not the same as living it. It is because I have already seen many videos, and sadly, today, I had to experience it. And I feel that it is something that really moves you a lot,” he recalled.

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According to Spanish-language outlet Conexion Migrante, Polanco can also be heard in the video calling the ICE agents “animals.”

“Even the neighbors and passersby here were trying to support us, but there’s nothing to be done with these animals.”

The wife of one of the Guatemalan workers spoke to Univision in a phone call under the promise of anonymity. The woman said she felt “sad” and “desperate” for her husband, who was detained.

“We are here to get ahead, not to do evil,” she stated.

Although no official information has been provided, Univision, citing relatives, reported that those detained do not have the required documentation to remain in the U.S.

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