'We’re very in the dark': Families say they can’t reach loved ones detained in St. Paul ICE operation
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The latest: 14 people detained in federal ICE raid at Bro-Tex in St. Paul
Families and advocates say they’re trying to reach their loved ones who were detained at a St. Paul manufacturer during a federal law enforcement operation on Tuesday.
Federal agents from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement blocked off streets for about two hours Tuesday morning at Bro-Tex, a paper and cloth wipes manufacturer in the city’s St. Anthony Park neighborhood. A chaotic scene unfolded as protesters tried to block federal vehicles from leaving the area, and agents deployed chemical irritants and projectiles to disperse crowds.
Erik Alarcon said his uncle and cousin were working at Bro-Tex when they were detained by federal agents. He said his family has not been able to reach them.
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“We still don't know where they're at. We don't know if they've gone to the bathroom, been fed and provided water, so we're very in the dark. We don't know anything,” Alarcon said.
He said he learned about the detentions after receiving urgent phone calls from his parents.
“I was in complete disbelief. You never imagine something like this happening,” he said. “When I got there, I just started crying. I couldn’t believe it.”
Alarcon says his uncle has lived in Minnesota for more than a decade and recently married.
He says the family had planned to gather for Thanksgiving next week. Now, they’re trying to figure out where their relatives were taken and whether they can contact them.
“As long as I live, I'll always speak out for them, and I'll always make sure that they've been heard and that they’re recognized.”
In a fundraiser posted online, Karla Alarcon Hernandez said her father, Carlos Alberto Alarcon Avila, had also been arrested. She wrote that he has lived in St. Paul for many years and worked at Bro-Tex. He also worked as a cook at the Turkey to Go stand at the Minnesota State Fair.
“My dad came here looking for safety and opportunity, like so many immigrants who give everything to build a better life,” Hernandez wrote. “He has been part of this community for years. He works, he pays taxes, he helps his neighbors, he shows up.”
Hernandez wrote that the family is seeking help with legal expenses, and to help cover the loss of income.
According to ICE’s detainee roster, Carlos Alarcon Avila is being held at the Sherburne County Jail.
An ICE spokesperson did not respond to a request to confirm how many people were detained or where they are being held.
At a press conference and vigil outside Bro-Tex on Wednesday morning, immigrant rights advocates said the operation is sparking fear in the city.
“Folks are being detained, and questions are being asked later, and that’s incredibly alarming,” said Ryan Perez, leadership and organizing director at the Minneapolis-based Communities Organizing Latine Power and Action, or COPAL.
Perez said COPAL is helping family members of two workers who were detained at the site get legal assistance.
Advocates said immigrant communities are feeling an increased threat. This operation came shortly after an ICE arrest that shook the community in Northfield, and a month after ICE arrested four people at a St. Paul construction site. In June, another federal law enforcement operation sparked protests and fear in Minneapolis.
Marco Hernandez, a spokesperson for Attorney General Keith Ellison, said at the vigil that arrests have also been on the rise at the Fort Snelling immigration court.
“These actions are tearing apart the fragile trust we work so hard to build between immigrant families and local institutions,” Ellison said in a statement shared by Hernandez. “They are making parents afraid to take their children to school and extracurricular activities. They are making workers afraid to show up to their jobs.”
An ICE spokesperson said agents and partners from other federal agencies were carrying out a search warrant related to a criminal investigation on Tuesday.
St. Paul Mayor-elect Kaohly Her criticized the operation. She and other elected officials said federal agencies didn’t give them any information ahead of time.
“Everyone deserves to feel safe where they live, and there are real national security threats that the federal administration is responsible for addressing, but flooding our neighborhoods with ICE and other federal agents only heightens tensions on the ground, rather than calming it,” Her said.
Her criticized federal agents for wearing vests and uniforms labeled “police.” She said that created confusion; St. Paul police said they were not involved in the operation and did not have advance warning about it.
St. Paul has a separation ordinance, which bars city police from enforcing immigration law or assisting ICE with immigration operations.
In a statement on Thursday, Bro-Tex said it had “no information to share” about what happened at its facility two days earlier.
“Bro-Tex continues to operate and remains focused on serving our customers’ needs,” the statement read.
