The fake historic plaque that was erected at the scene of a Philly ICE arrest has disappeared
As word of the art project spread on social media, some disapproved, suggesting that a Philly delivery driver was rightfully arrested
The ICE plaque is gone.
The fake but authentic-looking Pennsylvania historic marker, erected by two artists who sought to ruefully commemorate a local immigration arrest, disappeared from its post in Philadelphia sometime Monday.
Huston West, one of the artists, said he was walking his dog around 1 p.m. when he noticed the sign was absent from its spot on Fairmount Avenue near Fifth Street. A neighbor told him the plaque had been there earlier in the day.
“It’s lame,” West said of the sign being removed. “But it got a lot of coverage while it was up.”
West said he could only speculate on who may have taken the marker ― he suspected conservative opponents, people who had criticized the sign on social media, or maybe even the city government.
A city spokesperson said he would check.
This particular, familiar-looking blue-and-yellow marker, similar to the ones that commemorate important people, places, and events in communities across Pennsylvania, was put up at the site of a Feb. 16 ICE arrest.
That morning, masked agents descended on a Gopuff delivery driver who had pulled over to make a quick drop-off in Northern Liberties. After he was taken into custody, the car remained there for days, set two feet from the curb in a handicapped space, its hazard lights blinking until the battery finally died.
West and a fellow artist who goes by the name Emeyewhisky wondered what had happened to the driver, and created a plaque bearing the header, “ICE Kidnapping and Ghost Car.”
The “ghost car” terminology borrows from “ghost bikes,” the roadside memorials where a bicycle is painted white and placed at the site where a cyclist was hit and killed by a motorist.
Federal immigration authorities say the use of terms such as “kidnapping” is inaccurate and unfair, that they lawfully arrest migrants who have no permission to be in the country and who in some cases have committed criminal and even violent offenses.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Philadelphia said that on Feb. 16, officers conducted a targeted action and arrested Abdulasen Nazarkhudoev. They said he was unlawfully in the U.S., and told them he was a Russian citizen.
He was taken to the Federal Detention Center in Center City and later released by order of a judge, pending further immigration proceedings, records show.
ICE earlier referred questions about the sign to city officials.
As word of the art project spread on social media, some disapproved. Some suggested on a Northern Liberties Facebook group that the delivery driver was rightfully arrested.
West said Monday that he and his art partner had conferred about what to do next. Emeyewhisky is known for projects that place signs with fake wording on Philadelphia streets, and some have been removed.
Don’t be too surprised, Huston said, if an ICE marker should reappear.