PITTSBURGH — Channel 11 met a woman from Guatemala who asked not to use her name or show her face. She’s legally living and working in the Pittsburgh area.
“Yo soy de Guatemala,” she said.
Through a translator, the woman told Channel 11′s Antoinette DelBel that people in the Latino community are living in fear.
“We’re just afraid. Everybody’s afraid,” a translator said.
She said people who’ve come into the U.S. legally or not are afraid of being caught in a sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration.
“We come to this country for a better future for our families, for ourselves and unfortunately we’ve gotten to a point where nobody is coming out of their homes because of that,” she said through a translator.
Channel 11 sources said at least 30 local businesses closed temporarily over the weekend to protect workers and customers from potential ICE raids.
Sources said ICE agents were on the property of at least four local businesses and took an unknown number of employees into custody right in the parking lot.
Immigration lawyer Joseph Patrick Murphy said this crackdown is nothing like he’s ever seen. He told Channel 11 he got a call on Saturday about a couple of undocumented immigrants who were taken into custody while shopping at a home improvement store.
“These guys weren’t breaking any laws. They, in fact, were surprised as to why they were being arrested,” Murphy said. “Everybody’s got to keep a cool head in this, and I think it’ll be okay but it’s going to be shocking for a while.”
According to NBC News, the DEA, FBI, and other federal agencies involved in these so-called “targeted enforcement operations” are working through a list of people who have been convicted of crimes. The border czar, however, told NBC News they’re also making arrests if undocumented immigrants are found with people ICE is targeting.
“If you’re undocumented, if immigration agents are asking you questions, don’t answer them,” Murphy said. “Don’t tell on yourself. You have a right to remain silent just like American citizens do. If ICE comes to the door, you don’t have to answer it. If they’ve got a warrant, make them show it to you.”
Channel 11 reached out to ICE about raids in the Pittsburgh area. Public Affairs Officer Jason Koontz said, “At this point, we do not have any further information to release. When we do, I will get back to you.”
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