Federal agents fanned out through the Gaslamp Quarter today and rounded up dozens of foreign nationals violating their student visas by working as pedicab drivers in the popular tourist district, authorities reported.
The raids of downtown San Diego apartments began at about 6 a.m. and continued through the late morning, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
The roughly 40 people taken into custody, mostly young adults from Eastern Europe, were questioned and informed of the revocation of their visas, ICE spokeswoman Lauren Mack said. They were then released on condition that they leave the United States within 30 days, she said.
Most of those detained had been allowed into the country to attend school and were prohibited from working during their stays, according to Mack.
Any of them who fail to leave voluntarily will be subject to deportation proceedings, she said.
