LAKE PLACID, N.Y. (WCAX) – At least two Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in one week have left Lake Placid businesses scrambling for workers at the start of the busy summer tourism season and sent the immigrant community into hiding.
“Friendly, happy, outgoing, very, very hardworking,” said Brennan Stanton, describing his co-worker from Venezuela, who was among 14 detained by ICE on May 28.
“He was detained on private property, which is my family’s property,” said Art Lussi, who operates the Grandview Hotel in Lake Placid.
Lussi says the employee had worked there for the last few years, quickly earning the respect and admiration of those in the area. “It’s pretty frustrating to have a person that is respected not only by his fellow employees but people within the community,” he said.
Just days after the first raid, seven more people who were on their way to work at a local restaurant were detained by ICE at a trailhead outside Lake Placid. Some of the detainees were also roofers.
Keela Grimmette with the group North Country Immigrant Allies, says all 21 who were detained had work authorization but weren’t allowed to show it to ICE. “Even though we are told to have folks travel with their documents on their body, ICE is not even allowing people to even show those documents,” Grimmette said.
“There’s certain rights that everybody is entitled to and it just feels like maybe those weren’t followed through on for him,” Stanton said.
The two raids have some in the community on edge. “Sometimes we don’t want to bring our children to school, sometimes we don’t want to bring our kids to daycare. It’s just affecting all of our lives really,” said Eliana Godoy of Wilmington.
In a statement, ICE confirmed the first raid, saying all 14 people who were detained were in the country illegally and three had criminal histories. “President Trump and Secretary Mullin will not allow criminal aliens to walk freely on U.S. streets. ICE will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing alien offenders and those ordered removed by an immigration judge,” officials said.
While it’s unclear if Lussi’s employee had a criminal history, he says he’s worried about the impact ICE raids will have on a tourist heavy area that needs workers. “We aren’t going to be able to staff our businesses and that is why we have resorted to inviting foreign workers come and be part of our community and part of our region,” he said.
Local law enforcement was not aware of the two raids. All of those arrested have been taken to a detention facility in Batavia.
Copyright 2026 WCAX. All rights reserved.