As a number of undocumented immigrants have been arrested in Alexandria this month, nonprofit affordable housing developer Housing Alexandria recently advised its residents to stay indoors due to ICE activity.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, on Wednesday (Aug. 26), announced 1,328 “illegal alien offenders” were arrested throughout Virginia and Maryland between Aug. 1 and Aug. 14. Those arrested as part of ICE’s Operation Safe Community include at least four people in Alexandria. ICE said of the 1,328, nearly 400 had faced charges or been convicted.
In a release, ICE announced the arrest in Alexandria of Angel Gabriel Ortiz-Hernandez, described as a “criminal illegal alien from Guatemala whose criminal history includes rape of a mentally incapacitated victim and two counts of aggravated sexual battery of an incapacitated victim.” Court records show Ortiz-Hernandez’s charges had been dismissed in Alexandria Circuit Court.
The agency also announced the arrest of Rowan Andrew Brown, described as a “criminal illegal alien from Jamaica whose criminal history includes kidnapping, two counts of identity theft, fraud, and criminal re-entry of a previously deported alien.”
Both Ortiz-Hernandez and Brown were arrested in Alexandria, although ICE did not say exactly where and when. They will both remain in ICE custody pending their removal from the country.
ALXnow has reached out to ICE for more information on the arrests.
“Our officers are the best in the world at finding people who do not want to be located,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Acting Assistant Director Patricia Hyde said in a statement. “That’s exactly what we did throughout the course of this operation. Removing these criminal alien offenders from Virginia and Maryland neighborhoods makes for much safer communities, and that is exactly what the men and women of ICE work to accomplish every day across our great nation.”
Mayor Alyia Gaskins said that residents should look at the city’s website for more on what to do if they see ICE officials.
“ICE continues to remain active in our city and across the region,” Gaskins told ALXnow. “However, neither the City Manager nor Alexandria City Council are formally notified when ICE activity happens. The City has and will continue to take proactive steps in the face of growing ICE activity in our community on behalf of our immigrant neighbors. I’d encourage [residents] to visit the city website to learn more about what we are doing and what you should do if you see ICE.”
The city recommends:
- Calling 703-746-4444 to report non-emergency ICE enforcement activity where there is no immediate danger or violence to the community. (observation of ICE enforcement with no immediate danger/violence to the community or officers)
- Calling 911 to report sightings of armed, masked, unidentified persons. Police will respond to calls of unidentified persons with weapons and other suspicious events, including fights, assaults and other situations of immediate danger
Patch also reported that two men were arrested outside the 7-Eleven at 1025 W. Glebe Road on Monday, Aug. 10, in the city’s heavily Latino Arlandria neighborhood. The men were identified as Wilfredo Colomo-Juarez and Franklin Gomez-Fuentes, both from Guatemala. The group ICE Out of Alexandria claimed that four other people were taken from the area on Saturday, Aug. 8, although they were not identified.
On Wednesday (Aug. 26), Housing Alexandria sent residents living at an Arlandria property the following email:
We have been informed that ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is currently in the area. As a precaution, please remain inside your unit and do not open the building entrance for anyone you do not know.
At City Hall, the Clerk of the Circuit Court’s office, and other public buildings, Alexandria provides red immigration cards with the following advice:
You have constitutional rights:
- DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR if an immigration agent is knocking on the door.
- DO NOT ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS from an immigration agent if they try to talk to you. You have the right to remain silent.
- DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING without first speaking to a lawyer. You have the right to speak with a lawyer.
- If you are outside of your home, ask the agent if you are free to leave and if they say yes, leave calmly.
- GIVE THIS CARD TO THE AGENT. If you are inside of your home, show the card through the window or slide it under the door.
(On the other side)
I do not wish to speak with you, answer your questions, or sign or hand you any documents based on my 5th Amendment rights under the United States Constitution. I do not give you permission to enter my home based on my 4th Amendment rights under the United States Constitution unless you have a warrant to enter, signed by a judge or magistrate with my name on it that you slide under the door. I do not give you permission to search any of my belongings based on my 4th Amendment rights. I choose to exercise my constitutional rights. These cards are available to citizens and noncitizens alike.
