PANews reported on September 30th that, according to Blockspace, anonymous sources stated that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted a raid on the Lonestar Dream Bitcoin mining facility in Pyote, Texas, on Monday. The raid targeted an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) repair center operated by Bitmain affiliate ADW Tech. Several government officials, including agents from ICE, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), arrived at the facility. After several individuals failed to produce valid identification, law enforcement officers removed 12 to 13 employees from the facility, including several foreign nationals whose visas had expired.
Pyote, and West Texas in general, is a popular destination for Bitcoin miners. In late 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began sporadically seizing and confiscating imported ASIC mining machines at ports of entry. In some cases, CBP detained the hardware for months, charging affected companies storage fees without providing clear reasons for flagging and detaining the ASICs. CBP continued to detain certain shipments after Trump took office, only releasing the detained hardware in late Q1 and early Q2 2025.