Feds arrest Memphis immigrants in Sunday 'surge', outraging activists

Federal immigration agents reportedly arrested a large number of people at three Memphis apartment complexes Sunday, part of a surge in arrests that local activists say has left some Hispanics shaken and afraid.

Beginning Sunday morning, agents made around 15 arrests at the Prescott Place Apartments, Emerald Ridge Apartments and Corner Park Apartments in the Parkway Village area of East Memphis, said José Salazar, an immigration activist and an organizer for Hispanic advocacy group Cosecha Memphis.

The arrests were part of a "surge" targeting "family units, adults who entered the U.S. as unaccompanied alien children (UAC), and UACs who are at least 16 years old and have criminal histories and/or suspected gang ties," according to a statement released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement regional spokesman Thomas Byrd.

“All of the targeted individuals have been issued a final order of removal by a federal immigration judge, and have no appeals or motions to reopen their case before the nation’s immigration courts," Byrd stated.

ICE will announce the number of arrests following the surge, Byrd said. He declined to offer more details about the surge or how long it would last.

“Attempting to unlawfully enter the United States as a family unit or UAC does not protect individuals from being subject to the immigration laws of this country," Byrd stated.

Word of the arrests spread throughout the day, prompting several activist groups under the umbrella of the Coalition of Concerned Citizens to gather more than 20 supporters at Prescott at 6 p.m., then at Corner Park, to knock on doors and give residents "know your rights" literature. At one point, activists led a large group of residents at Prescott in a Spanish chant, translated "The people united will never be defeated!"

Salazar, 25, who helped organize the event at Prescott, said federal agents can take advantage of people's lack of knowledge — sometimes using administrative warrants, which are non-binding, unlike judicial warrants, to intimidate residents. 

"Everybody's scared," he said, looking up at faces slowly appearing along apartment balconies to see what was happening below. "They're full of fear."

Agents target individuals but don't sweep areas, Byrd said. But once agents are on the scene, they have a wider latitude under President Donald Trump to question people about their immigration status. The government arrested 10,845 people between Jan. 22 and April 29 whose only charge was an immigration violation — more than twice the number in the same period last year under Obama, according to ICE data released in May.

Activist Keedran Franklin shared a video on Facebook of ICE agents arresting a man without a warrant Sunday after they had a "consensual encounter" near Corners Park.

"These folks are running a legit business out here — off our lives," Franklin said of what he described as ICE "raids."

Adriana Colunga, 25, said her husband's longtime friend was another untargeted person arrested Sunday. He was arrested as he picked up a car he was having repaired at Prescott Place. She cried as she talked about him turning his life around, going to church and supporting his two young daughters. He was like a brother to her husband. He helped them financially when funds were tight.

In short, Colunga said, he's not one of the "bad hombres" Trump promised to deport.

"They're taking the wrong people," she said.

In the last month or two, local residents and activists said they'd seen U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ramp up arrests. Agents are now "raiding" some areas every two or three days, said Hunter Dempster, who has a number of roles with activist groups, including with the Coalition of Concerned Citizens and minimum wage advocacy group Fight for $15.

"They're trying to drain what they define as 'the swamp,'" Dempster said.

The Memphis Police Department was not present for the arrests and did not assist agents, according to an MPD statement Sunday, released in response to social media rumors officers were involved.

"The MPD has not, and will not, conduct any investigations concerning immigration laws," the MPD statement reads.

Memphis isn't technically a "sanctuary city" — a city that won't cooperate with federal immigration agents — because MPD already doesn't interact much with ICE. That's the job locally of the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, which has committed to cooperating.

Asked why she showed up Sunday at Prescott Place, Colunga said she felt someone should take action to keep other families feeling the pain her own was feeling.

"We have to do something before it's too late," she said.

Reach Ryan Poe at poe@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter at @ryanpoe.