ICE arrested several people in a South Philly park raid, immigration group says

Raúl Esperon called his wife, Angelica, from Mifflin Square Park on Monday: “ICE is taking us, call Juntos,” she recalled him whispering.

Officials with Juntos, the Latino advocacy organization based in South Philadelphia, said Tuesday several men who were in the park Monday were taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, in what the group called one of the larger operations in Philadelphia since President Donald Trump was inaugurated in January. The Mexican consulate confirmed four Mexican nationals were among those detained.

It was not clear Tuesday why ICE was at the park, in the Whitman neighborhood, or how the men were targeted. ICE officials in Philadelphia did not reply to requests for comment, but the agency told NBC10 five people were arrested at the park. Juntos had said it believed seven men were taken into custody, based on the number of families who reached out to the group.

The park is a hub of activity for many in the immigrant and refugee communities, particularly people of Latino and Asian descent. Neighbors, advocates, and relatives of those taken into custody described them as construction workers and family men, at least some of whom had been in the United States for years.

“ICE’s targeting of these men shows how the agency deems them disposable, assuming they are isolated, unemployed, and unhoused,” said Erika Guadalupe, Juntos executive director. “That framing doesn’t reflect the reality of the families we have spoken with, who are connected, working, and part of the community.”

Andres Clemente, 54, was taking his regular morning walk by Wolf Street when he saw four men dressed like civilians headed to the eastern side of the park Monday morning. He had just waved hello to some friends who were drinking on a grass patch when men in ICE and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives vests joined other agents surrounding them.

“At first, I didn’t realize they were going for them, then all I could feel was fear. I carry all my documents at all times just in case, but these days we [Latinos] know when we leave our homes but not if we are going to get to come back,” Clemente said. Since the June ICE arrest at Seventh Street and Snyder Avenue, Clemente said, he has been avoiding hanging out with other Latinos to “avoid drawing the wrong attention.”

ICE activity in the Philadelphia region has surged since Trump took office, and the city is on the administration’s latest list of sanctuary jurisdictions — even as Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration has maintained Philadelphia is a “welcoming city,” rather than a “sanctuary” one.

As the president continues what he intends to be the largest deportation campaign in U.S. history, public support for his immigration policies has continued to decline. But deportations have increased by 80% in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and the number of local police agencies partnering with ICE has surged.

Clemente knew five of the men taken into custody. Four were from Mexico and one from Honduras, he said. They were 30 to 50 years old, all construction workers, Clemente said, pointing to a gray truck parked along Fifth Street on Tuesday morning filled with buckets, concrete mixers, and working supplies.

Robert Freeman, 54, has been living in the area since 1982, and has often sat with his friends to drink at the park. That’s what he was doing when he saw ICE detaining the men, and it was not clear to him why authorities were approaching them.

“I just didn’t understand why; they were just sitting there, weren’t bothering anyone,” Freeman said. “It’s not right, I didn’t see them drinking. We were actually drinking and they didn’t come to us or do anything.”

A block away, Ana, who declined to provide her last name for fear of retaliation, sat on a step, calm but saddened.

Her husband, whom she identified as Abelardo Carrillo, had been taken during the raid.

“He was supposed to be at work,” Ana said.

The pair have lived in South Philadelphia for 14 years, raising an 18-year-old daughter and a 9-year-old son. They had just celebrated their 1-year-old granddaughter’s birthday.

She heard about the raid through Angelica, who also requested her last name be held for fear of repercussions, and said the men had stopped at the park to celebrate Mexico’s Independence Day, which was Tuesday, before going to work.

Ana described Carrillo, 34, as a family man who works hard to feed his family and enjoys spending time with his son and his granddaughter.

“My son keeps passing around asking if his dad is going to be deported to Mexico and I don’t know what to tell him,” Ana said. “I just want [Carrillo] to try and stay strong, because we are still here trying to help him no matter what.”

Tuesday night, Carrillo was able to make a brief call to tell his wife he was at ICE’s Philadelphia headquarters, near Arch Street.

Esperon, 39, was at the same location and also was able to update his wife of his whereabouts.

Angelica is still puzzled as to why ICE would target the group, and has had to explain her husband’s absence to their 6- and 10-year-old daughters.

“They were doing something they shouldn’t have been, but he is hardworking, pays taxes, and one mistake changed everything,” Angelica said.