ST. PETERS — Neighbors in two St. Peters neighborhoods said they were still shocked on Friday by the arrest of two people who federal prosecutors say hid undocumented immigrants inside homes here.
“There’s only seven houses on this street, and it is normally pretty quiet,†said Dick Parrish, a St. Peters resident.
“This has shocked everybody,†he said.
Around 9 a.m. on Tuesday, federal investigators and local police raided a two-story brick home in the 100 block of Bruns Place Court. Simultaneously, authorities also raided a home in the 200 block of Park Charles Boulevard South and a restaurant, the Golden Apple Buffet, in the 3800 block of Mexico Road in St. Peters.
Two people, Guo Liang Ye, 56, and De Jin Ye, 56, were indicted and taken into custody during the raid. They were both charged with one felony count of bringing in and harboring undocumented immigrants, and were scheduled to appear in federal court in 51ºÚÁÏ on Friday, before the hearing was canceled.
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County property records show the two homes are owned by Ye Investment I and Ye Investment II. Both ownership groups list Guo Liang Ye as the registered agent. Ye purchased both homes earlier this year, according to records.
On Friday, the Golden Apple Buffet was closed. Two workers there said the manager, Jason Diong, was sick and in the hospital. Diong did not respond to interview requests. One of the workers denied that the restaurant was closed because of the arrests. He said it would reopen in the coming days.
Would-be diners said Friday they were surprised to learn that the buffet was closed. They said the restaurant, which had only opened a couple of months ago, had proven to be quite popular because it offered a mix of foods, including Chinese, Vietnamese and even an Italian menu.
Neighbors on Park Charles Boulevard South said that shortly after the ranch-style home sold they noticed an increase in out-of-state licensed vehicles parking at the home and along the street. On Friday, that included three sedans and one large transit van. Each vehicle was licensed in a different state: Texas, North Carolina, Nebraska and Missouri.
On Friday afternoon around 3 p.m., a man arrived in a gray Lexus sedan and retrieved mail from the mailbox. He told a Post-Dispatch reporter that he didn’t speak English, and went into the home.
Two of the vehicles parked in the driveway of that home had Golden Apple Buffet employee hats in the dashboard on Friday.
Neighbor Kelley Reinhardt said a mix of men and women stayed at the Park Charles home, and largely kept to themselves. She said she tried to talk to one woman but the woman wouldn’t speak to her.
Reinhardt said that the residents were mostly either Hispanic and Asian adults. She said she would see them leave in the morning in the transit van, many of them wearing matching polos.
Bruns Place Court neighbor Mike Mitchell said he saw a transit van pick up workers from the two-story brick home there. He also described seeing a landscaping company box truck come to pick up workers.
He said people have continued to live in the home even after the raid.
Two people who exited the home on Friday afternoon denied that anyone was staying there. One, wearing a black Golden Apple Buffet hat, declined to give his name and said that he came to look for his friend and co-worker.
The two then walked away toward Mid Rivers Mall Drive and sat down under a shade tree a short distance away from the home.
Shortly after they left, a white Mercedes SUV with a New York license plate arrived. It had been parked outside of the Golden Apple Buffet earlier.
Three men exited the vehicle and went inside, including the man who had spoken briefly with the Post-Dispatch.
President Donald Trump’s strict immigration policies have reduced the U.S. labor force by over 1.2 million immigrants between January and July, according to preliminary Census Bureau data analyzed by the Pew Research Center. Immigrants make up nearly 20% of the workforce, including 45% in farming, fishing, and forestry, 30% in construction, and 24% in services, AP News reported. The U.S. immigrant population is declining for the first time since peaking in 2023, driven by departures, underreporting, enforcement actions, and fewer illegal border crossings under Trump’s policies. Experts warn the decline in immigrant workers is straining the U.S. job market, as immigrants typically drive at least half of job growth, limiting the ability to create jobs. Moody’s Chief Economist warned that Trump’s immigration policies could drive U.S. inflation from 2.5% to nearly 4% by early next year.
