ICE operations caught on camera circling social media, Council Member says incidents instilling fear
Multiple Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE incidents were caught on camera in North Austin Friday morning and were circling on social media.
In one of the incidents, an ICE officer was injured ICE released a statement saying "One ICE officer was injured in Austin, Texas, while he was arresting a criminal alien early in the morning of Feb. 10. The officer was treated and released from a local hospital. No further information regarding this incident is releasable."
WATCH APD PRESS CONFERENCE REGARDING ICE INCIDENTS HERE
But family members who spoke to Fox 7 said the man who detained has a work visa, no warrants and was just trying to go to work.
Teresa Rodriguez and her mother Teresa Velazquez are family members of man detained by ICE early Friday morning. “He was able to call us, and he says ice has me.” Rodriguez said she ran out the door with her sister as soon as she found out.
Austin Police said the incident started when an immigration officer pulled over a car on US-183, near Anderson Mill. APD said the driver was not cooperating, so they were called to help.
The man detained was Rodriguez’s brother-in-law. She said he is from Mexico, but is legally in the United States. Velazquez said the ICE officers took away his phone and wallet. “They were screaming at us, laughing in our face, about they can do whatever they want, they don't have to follow what the real laws are,” she said.
Rodriguez said at that point her brother-in-law got scared and tried to run away. One of the ICE officers was injured in the scuffle.
Rodriguez told Fox 7 two other family members who are U.S. Citizens ended up getting questioned about their citizenship and were arrested for outstanding warrants for traffic violations during the incident.
Another incident with ICE was caught on camera Friday morning at a Whataburger. The video shows a man handcuffed on his knees in the parking lot while ICE officers are searching his truck.
WATCH ICE INCIDENT AT WHATABURGER HERE
In the statement ICE released, they said on their background "ICE conducts operations daily nationwide. Ice does not conduct random sweeps; all ice operations are based on investigative leads. By removing from the streets criminal aliens and other threats to the public, ice helps improve public safety."
Council Member Greg Casar disagrees with the motives of ICE, “ICE’s actions clearly out here in the public clearly have nothing to do with protecting people's safety and everything to do with a politically motivated attempt to attack our communities.” Although, he had no official confirmation, he took to his social media saying “The community needs to know that we have confirmed a large amount of Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions in Austin in the last 24 hours, particularly in the North Lamar and Rundberg area. I believe ICE is out in public arresting people in order to retaliate against our community for standing up for our values against people like Abbott and Trump.”
He also added at a press conference that he has received phone calls and pictures of his constituents of people getting their doors knocked on. “It is clear that it is Abbott, Trump and their ilk at Immigration and Custom Enforcement that is causing that fear. We are here to denounce that fear and support the community and empower them by letting them know their rights,” he said.
Council Member Casar said at the press conference he took an oath in office to protect and serve the community and that's exactly what he's trying to do. But even with him behind them, Rodriguez said these ICE agents are inciting fear in the community. “I have family even though they are U.S. Residents and are legally here are scared to walk out the front door, when's it going to end?” she said.