ICE arrests five Guatemalan men in South Philadelphia, activists say, as video shows neighbor cursing at officers
A video of the apprehensions shows a neighbor cursing at the agents, whose faces were covered.
Immigration activists say ICE agents arrested five Guatemalan men at a home in South Philadelphia on Sunday.
A video shot by a neighbor from a nearby rooftop shows two young men in handcuffs, one of whom is then placed in a gray car as a neighbor loudly curses at the federal agents, who had their faces covered.
“Show your face, you [expletive] cowards,” the man yells.
The video then shows officers with two more men in handcuffs, walking them in opposite directions to other cars.
The activist group Juntos said it was investigating. Initial reports indicated that agents had been waiting for one man outside a home near 20th and Morris Streets in the Point Breeze section, then entered the property and arrested four others, Juntos said.
The arrests appear to have occurred between Pierce and Watkins Streets, just south of Morris. At least one other person can be seen recording the arrests from the sidewalk.
Efforts to reach Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Philadelphia for comment were unsuccessful Monday.
Those additional arrests are what are known as “collateral arrests.” They can occur when agents go to a place seeking to take one person into custody, then encounter others, such as family members or coworkers, who could be arrested.
“We’re disgusted but unsurprised by the most recent reports of ICE activity in our neighborhood,” said a statement by Juntos, the Latino immigration organization based in South Philadelphia. “Masked agents, collateral arrests, and shadowy tactics — these are reports we have been receiving all year. The repercussions on basic human rights and dignity, for all of us, should not be ignored.”
Five is a relatively large number of arrests. In January, ICE arrested seven undocumented workers at a North Philadelphia car wash, and in March four undocumented Brazilian nationals were arrested at a meat market in the Rhawnhurst neighborhood of Northeast Philadelphia. More than 20 were arrested in Norristown between late May and early June.
Aggressive ICE enforcement in Philadelphia and surrounding counties has provided widespread fear in immigrant communities, with people reporting they are skipping church, doctor’s appointments, and community gatherings. As of mid-June, ICE was detaining more than 56,000 immigrants in centers around the country, up from about 49,000 a month earlier. Statistics show 72% have no criminal record.
Juntos called on Philadelphians to denounce ICE and said “we will not rest until they are out of our communities.”