The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has raided a cryptomine data center in Texas.

ICE descended upon the Lonestar Dream Bitcoin mining facility in Pyote, Texas, on Monday September 29, apprehending a dozen or so people who were working there.

Operatives specifically targeted an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) repair center located at the mining site, which is operated by the Bitmain-affiliated ADW Tech, according to reports.

Government officers from multiple agencies were present at the site, including officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS,) and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), as well as ICE.

“Helicopters, snipers, armed men,” one source present at the scene told Blockspace. “[They asked] leading questions… ‘who does this, who does that,’” according to the source.

Ultimately, law enforcement officials on the scene arrested “12 or 13” individuals who failed to produce up-to-date legal documentation, including many Chinese nationals who had expired visas.

Given the Trump administration's previous heavy-handed approach to ASIC imports connected to companies run by Bitmain’s CEO, Micree Zhan, it would appear that this latest event is a continuation of the US Department of Commerce’s investigation into Zhan’s companies for alleged sanctions violations.

It is believed law enforcement officials were searching for restricted AI chips on ASIC miners constructed by Sophgo, a semiconductor company that shares Bitmain’s Zhan as CEO.

Bitcoin mining in general was not the focus of the raid, as the 195MW Bitcoin mine operated by Genesis Digital Assets - which is also based in Pyote, Texas - was not targeted.

Cryptocurrency mining pool, Poolin, recently sold the Lonestar Dream site in early 2024, shortly after Donald Trump was elected as President for the second time.