PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Fear has run rampant through a community in Southern Chester County after an ICE raid last week detained three employees at a tire shop.
ICE officials said they conducted the operation at Chavos Tires on Baltimore Pike in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania last Friday, Feb. 21, working from a tip that the shop was hiring people who are in the country illegally.
Nancy Ayllon-Ramirez, an immigration attorney in Kennett Square, said she first learned about the raid on Facebook. Early on, she struggled to separate fact from fiction as social media posts flooded in.
“They started to post things on Facebook that were really concerning because no one really knew exactly what happened, or what was happening,” she said.
Even the tire shop owner, whom Ayllon-Ramirez called to offer help, was unaware of the raid at first because he was not there when it happened.
It spread like wildfire on social media, there was a real livestream of the operation by a neighbor of the tire shop, but misinformation about ICE’s movements fanned the flames of panic.
“Everybody hide, everybody stay in your house, everybody don’t go anywhere if you don’t need to,” she said. “There were announcements from the schools and other nonprofits that they were closing, early daycares were going on lockdown.”
ICE clarified on Monday, federal agents interviewed and then arrested three people on immigration violations, with the intent to deport them.
One of the people detained, ICE said, has a criminal history of driving drunk and assault.
Ayllon-Ramirez’s firm is not representing them, but she said one has since obtained legal counsel, while the other two are receiving assistance from their respective consulates.
ICE also said the business is under investigation for hiring undocumented workers.
Chavos Tires said in a Facebook post that it would remain open and continue fighting for workers it claims are innocent.
Ayllon-Ramirez said tensions have been high since former President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20, but the raid has heightened fears.
“Everybody is on edge now more than ever,” she said. “Especially because before, we had not seen ICE presence in the community and as of Friday, things got a little more nerve-wracking.”
She said this was the first confirmed raid in Kennett since Trump took office.