Norristown 'Immigration Roundup' Has Community Uneasy

NORRISTOWN, PA -- Eight undocumented immigrants and Norristown residents have been picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in recent weeks, inspiring unease in the local community.

A Latino advocacy group, Juntos, held a meeting at the Montgomery County Free Library in Norristown in the wake of the pick-ups, according to the Times Herald.

“I think there was a sense of fear that immigration was coming in hard on Norristown and it certainly felt that way. Immigration was walking around the neighborhoods. There was a sense and a feeling of being terrorized,” Juntos Executive Director Erika Almiron said, the Herald reports.

ICE refused to use the word “raids” when describing their recent activities in the borough.

Only criminals, recent immigrants, and those who overstayed their legal residency were picked up, the report staets.

ICE said they were especially on the lookout for those with DUI and domestic violence convictions, according to the report.

Almiron and Juntos vehemently disagreed with ICE’s portrayal of what happened, saying some of the individuals picked up were valued members of the community that had family here.

She added the raids ultimately increased local distrust of police.