Almost two weeks after migration operation in the Pisgah National Forest, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed to Enlace Latino NC It was the United States Forest Service (USFS) that gave notice of the operation in Wilson Creek and asked if the immigration agency wanted to join.
“The USFS contacted ICE and notified us of an upcoming operation and asked if ICE wanted to assist or coordinate,” Lindsay Williams, an ICE spokesperson, said in an email in response to this media outlet’s questions about how the July 26 action originated. which resulted in 13 arrests.
In their responses to Enlace Latino NC The Forest Service had described its role differently. It maintained that it “does not conduct immigration enforcement operations,” that it “has no authority to enforce immigration law,” and that it “cooperates with law enforcement when requested.”
He never said that it was the agency that requested it.
In response to ICE's claim, the Forest Service neither confirmed nor denied to this publication that it had issued any warning. It reiterated that its officers "do not have the authority to enforce immigration law" and noted that "it is not uncommon for law enforcement agencies to coordinate with each other to ensure the safety of officers in field operations."
What the Forest Service explains (and what it doesn't)
In response to Enlace Latino NC The Forest Service explained part of its relationship with migration control tasks, although it avoided details of what happened in Wilson Creek.
A USFS spokesperson said the agency “has no authority to enforce the immigration law"and that it does not conduct immigration control operations." At the same time, it maintained that, like all branches of the Executive Power, it "complies with executive orders and Administration policies that mandate cooperation with the agencies responsible for enforcing immigration law."
In other words, she cooperates with those agencies without carrying out the arrests herself.
Regarding what its agents did on July 26, however, it declined to provide details. “To maintain the safety of personnel in future operations, we cannot share operational information,” the agency told this publication.
He also said he has agreements with several counties, including Caldwell, to cover the costs of law enforcement tasks, such as traffic control. The operation also had the support of the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office.
Sheriff Kevin Bean confirmed that involvement in a Facebook post, after his office told Enlace Latino NC Bean claimed he had no information about what had happened. According to Bean, his agents acted “at the request” of federal agencies.
ICE's version of the 13 detainees
In the same response, ICE detailed for the first time to Enlace Latino NC Why each of the 13 people had been arrested. According to the agency:
- Three were re-entries: people who, in ICE's words, “had been previously deported from the United States and returned illegally.” The spokesperson called re-entry “a serious crime.”
- Three had unfulfilled “final orders”: people who “had received an order from an immigration judge to be deported, but never left the country,” according to ICE.
- Two were “visa overstays”: people who “came to the United States with legal visas but stayed longer than the legally allowed period and never left,” according to the agency.
- Four were “EWI” (Entry Without Inspection): people who, according to ICE, “had not been previously encountered by immigration authorities.”
- One went “from not detained to detained”: a person who “was in process but was convicted of DUI while out on immigration bond,” in the words of ICE.
Of the 13 people, the one arrested for DUI is the only one to whom ICE attributed a conviction for a crime unrelated to their immigration status. The others, according to the agency, were detained for the manner in which they entered or remained in the country.
The breakdown contrasts sharply with the language used to describe the operation. For example, North Carolina House Speaker Destin Hall described those arrested as “a gang of previously deported illegal immigrants” and claimed they “had criminal records and a history of endangering the public.”
It may interest you: Community vigil and caravan to Wilson Creek reminds everyone that “the forest belongs to everyone” and “swimming is not a crime”
“My nephew is not a criminal”
The families of those arrested tell a different story. Among the 13 is Argenis Eduardo Torres Rosales, 32, a furniture factory worker in Hickory. He was at the river with his family that Sunday when he was arrested.
“My nephew is not a criminal. What they are saying is a lie. Not all Latinos are criminals,” his aunt, Wendy Rosales, told this media outlet.
According to his account, Argenis entered the country with a humanitarian permit in 2023. He has an open asylum case, a work permit, a valid driver's license, and pays taxes. "He did not enter this country illegally," Rosales said.
Furthermore, Siembra NCThe report, which checked the backgrounds of four of the detainees, maintains that none of them had criminal records and questions the account that it was an operation targeting criminals.
On the other hand, community leaders and family members who were at the scene described an indiscriminate raid, in which agents stopped people based on their appearance.
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