U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were in Fort Worth over the weekend seeking specific individuals, Fort Worth police confirmed to the Fort Worth Report.
It is unclear whether ICE is still operating in the city. Local law enforcement officials provided limited information and deferred questions to the federal agency, which did not answer requests for comment.
“Our office was informed that ICE officers were in Fort Worth seeking specific individuals and that this was not a random occurrence,” police spokesperson Daniel Segura said in a statement to the Report. “We ask that individuals do not interfere with ICE officers or their operations.”
In the statement, Segura said the “Fort Worth Police Department does not conduct or direct ICE operations.”
Reports of ICE activity in the Riverside neighborhood northeast of downtown circulated on social media Saturday. Video footage shows at least four ICE agents leaving a taqueria parking lot as several bystanders shouted profanities at them and demanded they leave. One of the vehicles agents drove away in was labeled as ICE, but others were unmarked.
Fort Worth City Council’s two Latino members, Carlos Flores and Jeanette Martinez, addressed the reports on social media over the weekend, each confirming the local presence of ICE. Mayor Mattie Parker did not return a request for comment sent to her spokesperson.
City Manager Jay Chapa’s office had no additional information about the ICE activity beyond what police have said, spokesperson Sana Syed told the Report via email.
“ICE is a federal law enforcement agency and is not required to notify or seek authorization from the City Manager’s Office regarding its enforcement activities,” Syed wrote.
Martinez, who deferred questions to Fort Worth police, urged residents to stay safe and follow traffic laws. If stopped by an ICE agent, residents should know their rights and document the interaction if safe to do so, she wrote in a post.
What to do if detained or arrested by ICE
All immigrants have legal rights, even if they do not have legal immigration status, according to the National Immigration Law Center.
- Residents have the right to remain silent and not answer questions from ICE agents.
- Residents are not required to allow ICE agents into their homes unless the agents have a judicial warrant.
The center advises carrying a “Know Your Rights” card, which can be found here. Immigrants should carry proof of their immigration status and show it to law enforcement when stopped but stay silent if they are being arrested, according to the center.
Flores also deferred questions to the Fort Worth police and confirmed in a Facebook post that “ICE agents are in the City seeking specific individuals and are not conducting broad enforcement operations.”
The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office is not participating in joint immigration enforcement operations with ICE, spokesperson Laurie Passman told the Report via email, deferring questions to ICE.
“Our involvement with ICE is strictly limited to operations within the confines of the corrections facility,” Passman said.
The sheriff’s office has partnered with ICE since 2017 through the 287(g) program, which allows sheriff deputies to screen the immigration status of those booked into the county jail. ICE officials then detain those who are undocumented.
This time last year, Fort Worth City Council members told the Report they had not formally discussed how to approach immigration enforcement locally. Flores and Martinez said at the time they would not support a partnership with ICE.
Cecilia Lenzen and Kamal Morgan are government accountability reporters for the Fort Worth Report. Contact them at cecil@fortworthreport.org and kamal@fortworthreport.org.
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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