The arrests occurred at the Honua Kai job site as part of an investigation that targeted employer Global Stone Inc., said Lori Haley, spokeswoman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She said those arrested were employed by the company and working at the job site.

Two high-rise buildings are being constructed at the condominium project on Lower Honoapiilani Road. The general contractor on the project, Ledcor Construction, issued a statement Thursday saying none of the detained workers were employed by Ledcor but saying it knows individuals were arrested.

Haley said those arrested included one woman and 21 men who are in the country illegally. She said 15 people, including the woman, are Mexican nationals, four are Brazilian, one is Guatemalan, one is Honduran and one is Peruvian. All were taken into federal custody and initially transported to Honolulu to be processed for removal from the country, Haley said.

Those arrested included some employees of a landscaping company and some marble company workers, all of them nonunion and Spanish-speaking.

Haley said the federal investigation is continuing.

“ICE targets companies and employers who may be knowingly hiring illegal aliens,” she said. “At this point, the arrests were just of the employees who were working there illegally.”