Upland police, ICE arrest undocumented man during joint raid

From Delco to Chesco and Montco to Bucks, what about life in Philly’s suburbs do you want WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested an undocumented man Tuesday morning during a joint raid with local police at a commercial property in Upland Borough.

The Upland Borough Police Department identified the Mexican national as Froylan Gonzalez-Ramirez. ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

According to the agency’s Online Detainee Locator System, Gonzalez-Ramirez is still in ICE custody. Gonzalez-Ramirez was neither the focus of the search warrant nor had he committed a crime, authorities said. 

Since President Donald Trump’s inauguration, there has been a national crackdown on immigration that has galvanized his supporters — and sent waves of fear throughout different communities across the country. Trump has been swift to deliver on his campaign promises by stripping schools and churches of immigration and enforcement protections, suspending asylum and ramping up arrests. 

ICE recently detained seven people during an operation at a Philadelphia car wash. New Jersey has also seen its share of raids, leaving local communities scrambling to support impacted immigrants. The raid in Upland appears to be one of the first in Delaware County since the Trump Administration took over.

“We’re sensitive to the fact that this is going on nationally and that people are obviously understandably upset and afraid,” Upland Police Chief Michael Irey said. “In our agency, I can tell you that we aim to do everything professionally, transparently and handle everything under the color of the law.”

Irey alleged the property owner is under investigation for committing numerous licensing and occupancy code violations. He could not identify the property owner because he said the report was still under review.

According to Irey, police pursued a fugitive Saturday following an unrelated incident. During the search, officers learned about undocumented immigrants living at the Race Street property. A “confidential informant” supplied an Upland detective with more evidence.

Upland police tapped ICE as well as United States Homeland Security Investigations and Chester Township Police for assistance to execute the search warrant.

“The purpose of our entry into the building was to establish the use and occupancy status of the building — meaning they do not have a business license, they don’t have a use and occupancy license and I believe there was two other violations of borough code,” Irey said. “Because we were given some information that these subjects may or may not have been here illegally, we reached out to our federal partners who were more than happy to assist.” 

Delaware County is not a “sanctuary county.” The five-member Delco Council, comprised entirely of Democrats, declined to comment on the operation. Upland Mayor William Dennon, a Republican, did not respond to a request for comment.