U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement is under pressure to increase deportations nationwide. Central Shenandoah Valley residents say it's happening here. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
The Guardian reported on Wednesday that senior immigration officials have instructed officers to increase apprehensions and "turn the creative knob up to 11" to fulfill the Trump administration's mass deportation goals. The New York Times reported that the administration increased removal flights last month, deporting an average of 850 people per day in the first half of May.
Federal agents appear to be increasing enforcement operations in our area, too.
Agents detained several people during a traffic stop in Harrisonburg on Tuesday. A witness who spoke with WMRA on the condition of anonymity said that state troopers initiated the traffic stop against a gray work van around noon near the 251 exit ramp off I-81. The van pulled into the Mr. Be's Welcome Center parking lot, and federal agents soon appeared and detained seven or eight men from the van. Based on a photo of the incident, at least one of the officers wore an American flag-printed face mask, and another wore a vest marked as Police, HSI – the acronym for Homeland Security Investigations. A video of the incident also shows an officer wearing an FBI vest.
As WMRA previously reported, the Virginia State Police signed a formal agreement with ICE in February to assist federal officers in detainment and deportation efforts. The VSP agreed to pay the troopers to serve these functions.
A spokesperson for the Virginia State Police responded to WMRA's emailed questions with the following statement.
"At approximately 11:46 a.m., on Tuesday, June 3, Virginia State Police initiated a traffic stop on a Ford E350 van traveling northbound on Interstate 81 near the 251 exit. The Ford was observed following another vehicle too closely. The Ford pulled into a convenience store along the 3800 block on North Valley Pike in Rockingham County. The driver of the Ford, an adult male, was given a warning for the traffic violation. For any questions regarding the presence of federal agents, contact the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Enforcement."
James Covington, the northeastern U.S. regional communications director for ICE, has not responded to multiple interview requests over the past three weeks.
This public, group detainment marks a departure from previous reports of local ICE arrests made to WMRA, which were allegedly targeted at one or two people and often occurred at people's homes or check-ins at the ICE office. The superintendent of Harrisonburg City Public Schools, Michael Richards, confirmed to WMRA that the father of two students was also detained recently. Community organizations working with immigrants in the area estimate that about 50 people, many of them originally from Guatemala, have been detained by ICE in the Harrisonburg/Rockingham County area since Donald Trump took office.
WMRA submitted a FOIA request to ICE on March 4th, requesting:
- the number of active detainer orders in the Washington, D.C. "area of responsibility" and Virginia in particular,
- the number of those orders that were issued for someone with a criminal conviction, and
- a list of crimes those individuals were convicted of.
The D.C. area of responsibility is made up of the capital and all of Virginia.
ICE acknowledged the request and invoked a 10 business day extension on top of the 20 days they usually have to respond. That 30 business day period ended in mid-April. When we asked for an update in May, the office responded via email, "your request is currently pending the search for responsive documents. If any responsive records are located, they will be reviewed for a determination of releasability. ICE FOIA apologizes for the delay in the processing of your request." Our requests for expedited processing and a waiver of associated fees were denied.
The Department of Homeland Security is holding a career fair this week at the Dulles Expo Center to recruit new hires for a number of positions, including ICE officers in the D.C. area of responsibility.
