A worker connected to Meta’s operations was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, prompting colleagues to discuss the incident on internal message boards and organize support efforts. The episode is part of a broader pattern of immigration enforcement actions touching Meta’s workforce and facilities.

In December 2025, a Senegalese asylum seeker named Serigne, the brother of Meta cafeteria dishwasher Abdoul Mbengue, was detained by ICE. That arrest galvanized Meta’s cafeteria staff, who mobilized support and launched fundraising efforts on behalf of their colleague’s family.

On January 14-15, 2026, ICE agents arrested two dump truck drivers near Meta’s Hyperion data center construction site in Richland Parish, Louisiana.

Inside the internal response

Meta employees didn’t stay quiet. Internal message boards became a venue for discussing the detentions, with colleagues expressing concern about the treatment of workers who, while not always direct Meta employees, are integral to the company’s day-to-day operations.

Meta’s complicated history with crypto and regulatory pressure

Meta has a tortured history with digital assets, most notably the Diem stablecoin project (originally called Libra) that was fully wound down in early 2022 after years of regulatory resistance. Meta ultimately sold Diem’s assets to Silvergate Capital.

As of April 2026, the company enables creator payouts in USDC on both Solana and Polygon in select markets, including Colombia and the Philippines.

What this means for the broader landscape

Meta’s aggressive data center expansion, including the Hyperion facility in Louisiana, is primarily aimed at scaling AI infrastructure. Any disruption to construction timelines, whether from labor shortages driven by immigration enforcement or from the reputational fallout of ICE arrests near company facilities, could ripple outward.

Meta’s NFT features on Instagram followed a similar arc to Diem, launching in 2022 and being discontinued within a year.