'We Were Being Watched Today': ICE Warning Issued By Norristown Group

NORRISTOWN, PA — Immigrant advocacy groups warned the community that there is increased ICE activity in Norristown Tuesday, just a week after a major raid that resulted in at least 14 arrests.

The nonprofit Unides Para Servir Norristown said that ICE vehicles were seen at around 10:30 a.m. between Main Street and Lafayette Street.

"We were being watched today," the group shared. "Thank you all for being alert."

No arrests or raids were reported.

The greater Norristown area community is still reeling from what local lawmakers called a heavily "militarized" ICE operation at the Super Gigante market in West Norriton last week.

The incident brought more than a dozen into custody. Images of masked and heavily armed agents on the rooftop of the market and surrounding the neighborhood circulated quickly through social media.

"This isn’t about public safety," State Sen. Katie Muth said last week. "It’s about fear and control. It’s about putting a price on the heads of immigrants for the sake of headlines, rather than creating a real, humane path to citizenship for the people our communities, and our economy, depend on every day."

The individuals arrested last week have not yet been identified, and the Homeland Security Philadelphia Field Office has not announced the raid, as they have in numerous other instances over the past several months.

Unides Para Servir is trying to raise funds to support the arrested individuals, citing poor detention conditions.

"We've received reports that the people detained at Giant and Norristown are getting only one piece of bread as food," the group shared. "If they want to eat something decent, they have to buy it themselves, but many don't have family outside to support them."

They're collecting donations for money for food and legal assistance.

Unides Para Servir is not alone in urging the public to keep an eye out for ICE agents, as suburban and urban immigrant communities become battle lines between local Democratic powers and President Trump's federal deportation efforts. Montgomery County officials have been outspoken about not cooperating with the Trump administration's plans, which they say are illegal. The Norristown Police Department is also among many local law enforcement agencies that has issued notices to help residents determine differences between municipal police and federal immigration agents.