ICE arrested two dump truck operators over their immigration status as they were traveling to the Meta data center site in Richland Parish Wednesday, according to a social media post by the parish sheriff’s office. The sheriff’s office was involved in the traffic stops that lead to the arrests, according to the post.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents stopped the two people and arrested them, but did not enter the Meta site at any time, the post says.
“Today, January 14, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was present in Richland Parish. ICE agents assisted the Richland Parish Sheriff’s Office with traffic stops involving dump trucks traveling to the Meta site. During those stops, two drivers were arrested by ICE due to their immigration status. The individuals were from Guatemala and Honduras. ICE did not enter the Meta site at any time,” reads a Facebook post from the Richland Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Meta is building a 4 million square foot AI data center on 2,250 acres of former Richland Parish farmland. The data center, which will be as large as 70 football fields, was initially pegged to cost $10 billion. The cost is now estimated at $27 billion.
This is a developing story.
