For both family members and friends of immigrants detained during the recent immigration operations in Charlotte and In other areas of North Carolina, it has become a difficult and even impossible task to find them on the ICE Locator.
Both on social media and in our newsroom, we have received questions from people who have been unable to locate a detainee after a week or more has passed since his arrest.
According to data released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the operating Charlotte's Web The operation, conducted by the agency known as Customs and Border Protection (CBP), from Saturday, November 15 to Friday, November 21, resulted in the arrest of more than 400 immigrants.
Videos of various arrests were posted in real time on Facebook and TikTok, and many were confirmed by fact-checkers from the organizations Siembra NC and Comunidad Colectiva.
More than a week without knowing anything about her son
“My son has been detained since Saturday (November 15) in Charlotte, and I have no information about him,” a mother said in a Facebook group.
Enlace Latino NC We contacted Suyapa Garcia, the mother, who lives in Honduras, who told us that she had not heard from her son, Victor Noel Aguilar, for eight days.
“I only found out that he had been arrested by immigration near where he was renting a house, and the owner notified his girlfriend, and that’s how I found out,” the mother said.
Until Saturday, November 22, the mother received a call from her son, who told her that he had been sent to a detention center in Atlanta and that he was now in Louisiana.
The 19-year-old was one of the first detained by Border Patrol agents in Queen City, and 15 days after his arrest he is already back in his country with his mother, after two years of living in this city.
He still doesn't know anything about his friend
Jesús G., a Honduran immigrant, recounted that his friend Elmer Ávila, known as "Chele," was detained near some apartments on Nations Ford Road on the morning of Sunday, November 23. Although the detention was posted on social media, it is unclear whether the agents were from the Border Patrol or ICE.
They were victims of a fire that occurred on Thursday, November 20, in a unit of the River Crossing Apartments southwest of Charlotte.
“We haven’t heard anything from him since he was arrested,” Jesus told Enlace Latino NC.
Jesus sent us a photograph of his friend's ID so we could try to locate him, and we finally found him on Friday, November 28th, in a detention center in Louisiana. Jesus said he learned that his friend had signed the voluntary deportation.
What is the reason for the delay in locating the detainees?
The lawyer Jamilah Espinosa , Espinosa Law, Charlotte told Enlace Latino NC , which, in the first hours of the operation Border Patrol agents received about 10 calls at their office.
“We were able to locate almost everyone, but it took us about a week,” Espinosa said.
The lawyer commented that what is being seen now is that the time it takes to locate immigrants on the ICE locator has been extended more than normal.
“Normally, before these operations, when someone was detained by ICE, it took 24 to 48 hours to locate them in the public online system with their information. Now we see that it is taking up to a week or a little more to appear in the ICE Locator,” Espinosa said.
Contact your country's consulate
On the other hand, the lawyer commented that previously immigration allowed detainees to make that first call to communicate with family or friends to let them know where they were.
“What we’ve seen is that this isn’t happening immediately when they are detained. One of the pieces of advice we give is that, if they haven’t been located in that public system, they should contact the consulates of their countries of origin, because under international law, those detained within the United States have the right to request to communicate with a representative of their consulate,” Espinosa stated.
According to the lawyer, consulates have a better connection with immigration authorities, and can request certain data, including which people from a certain country they have in custody, and thus can verify whether the person is detained or not.
“At ICE detention centers, detainees are given a form asking if they want to contact their consulate, and they can mark YES,” he said.
Immigration Guide >>> ?How do I contact the Honduran Consulate in North Carolina?
Memorize an emergency contact number
The lawyer mentioned that another problem that can arise is that detainees do not remember any phone numbers when they are allowed to make that first call.
“It’s very important to memorize the number of a trusted person, someone you know will answer at any time. Many people think their partner or lawyer would be the person to make that first call, but if the lawyer is in court, they won’t answer, or if their partner is at work, their phone might be on silent,” she said.
Espinosa said that, in any case, if the detainee does not remember someone's phone number, the consulates are there to support them and will try to contact the family members.
Related: ICE arrests reach a historic record, predominantly of people without criminal records
Who are they arresting?
Espinosa said that, as has always been the case, ICE agents and other immigration agencies focus on finding people who have a deportation order, or who have a pending case and have stopped reporting to them.
“These are examples of people they are looking for, but when they go to apartment complexes and other places and that person isn't there, but they find others they think are immigrants, they question them, and if the person tells them they don't have papers, they're going to arrest them,” he explained. “These are collateral arrests,” he added.
But according to the lawyer, what we are seeing now is that the agents don't care if people have pending cases before the Immigration Court.
“We have seen people who entered and then applied for asylum, who do not have a deportation order, and have work permits, as well as people with humanitarian visas, such as the U visa; they are among the people who have been detained,” Espinosa said.
The lawyer mentioned that those detained in North Carolina are being transferred to different detention centers in Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas.
You can go to the ICE website and search for a family member or friend detained in a regular or mass operation by immigration authorities, in the Online Detainee Location SystemTo do this, you must have the complete information of the detainee: first and last names, date of birth and country of origin.
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