Federal authorities shot down the rumor and confirmed on Tuesday that no U.S. immigration agents raided a Trenton supermarket in search of illegal Latino aliens over the weekend.
Harold Ort, spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, said in an email to The Trentonian that there was nothing to the rumor, which drove many city Latinos into hiding.
“There’s absolutely no truth to these reported rumors. Frankly the fear these rumors generate is unjust and completely unwarranted,’’ said Ort.
In addition, the spokesman said the division of America’s Department of Homeland Security best known by the acronym ICE, has no agreement with Walmart permitting agents to enter to haul away suspected illegal aliens.
“We are focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that places priority first on those dangerous criminal aliens who present the greatest risk to the security of our communities, not on sweeps or raids to indiscriminately target undocumented immigrants,’’ Ort said.
His comment echoes the policy of most mayors in urban New Jersey as well as the instructions Jersey’s attorney general gave to local cops for handling aliens in the country illegally.
Ort also said “rumors of this nature, can have unfortunate results, like what the Latino community is experiencing in Trenton.
“ICE agents conduct targeted law enforcement operations in locations around the country as part of our effort to protect the nation and uphold public safety,’’ said Ort.
“((These operations are not random sweeps, but carefully planned enforcement actions that result from investigative leads and intelligence)).”
Ort also urged anyone to anonymously report criminal activity to our national tipline at 866-DHS-2-ICE.
Rumors like this spread like wildfire. People have been known to abandon their cars in the middle of the street. Frank Mulhany of Trento NJ commented that " Something has to be done fast. These people are generally hard working and honest. Obama should force congress to pass a comprehensive immigration reform, so that their lives tocould go back to normal."
www.trentonian.com via Jornal.us