Advocates react to reported ICE operation in North Philly: ‘They cannot come and persecute our families’

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Seven people were detained during an operation conducted Tuesday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at a car wash in North Philadelphia, according to advocacy leaders who say they spoke with family members.

Protesters stood side-by-side outside of the ICE headquarters in Center City shortly after a video posted to social media appeared to show the operation. Of the people detained, six were from Mexico and one was from the Dominican Republic, according to the New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia.

Lenore Ramos Juarez, defense organizer of Juntos, a Latin and immigration advocacy group, said one of its members was deported from the Moshannon Valley Detention Center.

“Despite a pending board of immigration appeal, his deportation was carried out so quickly that his legal team was unable to stop it,” Juarez said. “Victor is a loving father who has now been heartbreakingly separated from his young daughter … We denounce these detentions and deportations for what they are: a tactic of state violence designed to destabilize our community and instill a culture of fear.”

“We’re here to say that they cannot come into our city without a response,” said Peter Pedemonti, co-director of New Sanctuary Movement. “They cannot come and persecute our families. Take away families. Take away fathers and mothers without a response from us.”

Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition Political Director Julio Rodriguez said “things are only going to get worse” after the Laken Riley Act goes into effect. The GOP-backed policy will make it easier for federal immigration officials to detain and deport those without legal status who are charged with crimes, according to NPR.

“So if I go to Target [and], forget to pay something … if I have DACA, I can be arrested and put into Moshannon Valley for six months — because that’s how long people are waiting — and I can’t get out,” Rodriguez said. “Now my wife has to take care of our son by herself because I made a simple mistake and because they’re passing these racist laws.”

Rodriguez called on Mayor Cherelle Parker, members of Philadelphia City Council, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman and Rep. Brendan Boyle, who are both Democrats, to take action ensuring Philly is a “welcoming city” and urged people to call their elected officials.

Roughly 11 million unauthorized immigrants were living in the U.S. as of January 2022, up from the 10.5 million reported in January 2020 but down from the 11.6 million seen in 2010, according to the Office of Homeland Security.

Immigrants now make up the largest percent of Philadelphia’s population since the 1940s. The Pew Charitable Trusts’ 2024 State of the City found that 15.7% of Philadelphians were born outside the United States  — up from the national percentage of 13.9%.