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ICE officers reportedly spotted in Immokalee

Posted at 7:16 PM, Jul 12, 2019
and last updated 2019-07-12 19:16:19-04

IMMOKALEE, Fla. — A week after President Donald Trump said that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would begin a major roundup of people who may have entered the U.S. illegally, ICE officers have reportedly been spotted in Immokalee, an agricultural town in Collier County which has a large Hispanic population.

"What I heard is that they were spotted going door to door, and that when Spanish media showed up, they left," said Angela Cisneros of the activist organization Collier For Dreamers.

Cisneros and other activists are advising people in Immokalee not to let an officer inside their homes unless the officer has a warrant - and even then, to ask them to slide the warrant under the door before opening it.

"What we're afraid of is that ICE may be looking for somebody who doesn't live there anymore," Cisneros said. "But if the door is opened, other people in the residence who may have questionable legal status may be detained, and/or deported."

When Fox 4 reached out to ICE for confirmation about ICE officers in Immokalee, a spokeswoman emailed this statement:

Due to law-enforcement sensitivities and the safety and security of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel, the agency will not offer specific details related to enforcement operations.

As always, ICE prioritizes the arrest and removal of unlawfully present aliens who pose a threat to national security, public safety and border security. In fact, 90 percent of aliens arrested by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations component in FY2018 had either a criminal conviction(s), pending criminal charge(s), were an ICE fugitive, or illegally reentered the country after previously being removed.

However, all of those in violation of the immigration laws may be subject to immigration arrest, detention and – if found removable by final order – removal from the United States.

- Tammy Spicer, Public Affairs Officer