ICE Raid Rumors Swirl in Philly’s Migrant Community

Pictured is an unidentified ICE agent, as rumors of ICE raids swirl in Philadelphia’s migrant community (Getty Images)

Check phillymag.com each morning Monday through Thursday for the latest edition of Philly Today. And if you have a news tip for our hardworking Philly Mag reporters, please direct it here. You can also use that form to send us reader mail. We love reader mail!

ICE Raid Rumors Swirl in Philly’s Migrant Community

Early Monday afternoon, as Donald Trump took the oath of office and then declared illegal immigration a national emergency — and promising to launch the largest deportation operation America has ever seen — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid rumors were already swirling around the migrant community in and around Philadelphia. The rumors actually started on Friday — days before Trump even took office — with anecdotal reports of ICE raids in the Upper Darby area.

Most of those anecdotal reports center on two large Upper Darby parking lots where men are seen by the dozens every morning waiting for contractors to show up in pickup trucks and give them work. On Monday, rumors of the ICE raids were all the talk of an Upper Darby bar frequented by migrants. No one I spoke with saw any ICE raids with their own eyes, but they insisted that they happened. At the very least, the migrants I’ve spoken with believe they’ve happened and fear is decidedly in the air, as it should be since even if ICE raids haven’t happened yet and these reports are all part of some paranoid hysteria, it seems almost a certainty that they’re coming.

James Beard-nominated chef Dionicio Jiménez, who himself came to the United States illegally way back in 1998 before rising through the kitchens of Marc Vetri, Michael Solomonov and Stephen Starr to open two of his own restaurants, says he’s heard the rumors that ICE raids have already begun in the Philadelphia area. But he hasn’t been able to confirm what he’s been told.

I stopped by both Upper Darby parking lots twice on Tuesday morning, and instead of dozens of migrant men standing around, there were few, bundled up to await work in the brutal cold. “We have to work,” one told me, declining to provide his name. (I’m not providing the exact locations of these parking lots for what should be obvious reasons.)

I repeatedly tried to contact the press office for ICE in Washington, D.C. to ask if there had been any major ICE raids in the Philadelphia area in recent days. All I got every time was a busy signal. And no one at ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations office at 8th and Cherry streets returned my multiple calls.

“Whether it’s true or not at this moment,” says Jiménez, “people are scared.”

Is John Fetterman Defecting to “The Other Side”?

Speaking of swirling rumors, rumors have been swirling for a while now about John Fetterman’s allegiances. He’s taken some stances that have aligned with the right, and he was the first sitting Democratic U.S. senator to pay a visit to then-President Elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago. After the meeting, Trump called Fetterman “fascinating,” adding that Fetterman’s wife, Gisele, is “lovely.” So what of these rumors? Well, on Monday, he told the outlet Semafor that such speculation is “amateur hour shit.” He said point blank: “It’s not gonna happen. And even if I wanted to do that, that is a rocket sled to Palookaville to try to switch. I would make a pretty bad Republican.”

Reader Mail

It’s fair to say that there has been a lot of reaction to my story on Monday about Bradley Cooper attending the Eagles game with supermodel girlfriend Gigi Hadid and the controversy that Hadid’s appearance spawned thanks to accusations of her being an antisemite.

Mike from South Philly wanted to know why I felt the need to note that Jeffrey Lurie’s wife Tina, who was also with the glamorous couple in Lurie’s luxury box, had become “fabulously wealthy through marriage.” (Sorry for offending your sensitivities, Mike, but we talk about wealth and high society all the time. If you had the good, uh, fortune of marrying Victoria Mars or Mary Alice Dorrance Malone, I would use the same language about you. Keep me posted!)

Raymond had this to say: “Lurie probably thinks Hadid’s wealth and fame offsets her apparent antisemitism. Flippant rich people often do as much.”

And then there came this message from Barbara:

Thanks for the article on Bradley Cooper. It strikes me as very interesting that Gigi Hadid showed up in Lurie’s box as three young Israeli women were freed… Sports is supposed to be a welcome relief from day to day trouble and strife, as Harry Kalas reminded us after 9/11. But between this and today’s inauguration, thanks goodness the Eagles won yesterday.

Thank goodness, indeed, Barbara!

Oh, and gotta love Kevin, who took to social media to write: “Victor is a pos liberal cry baby.” I’m just happy he didn’t use “snowflake.” So 2024.

By the Numbers

12: Additional indoor pickleball facilities expected to open across our pickleball-crazed region this year. I. Just. Don’t. Get. It.

0: Taxes that the state collects on those legally murky “Pennsylvania Skill Games” (a.k.a. gambling machines) that you see in bars, delis, gas stations, and convenience stores throughout the area. But the times might be a-changin’.

$500+: Minimum you had to donate to the filmmakers of Delco: The Movie (yes, I said Delco: The Movie) if you wanted an invite to the red carpet premieres in Delco this past weekend. I simply love this report on the event from our friend Stephanie Farr over at the Inquirer.

Local Talent

Twenty years ago, Bucks County native Robert Costa was partying at Pennsbury High. These days, he’s one of Washington’s top political correspondents, a guy who interviews presidents. I recently caught up with him to talk about what he calls “Zen Trump” (how can that possibly be a thing?) and how Wawa is a godsend to him in D.C. You can read the full interview here.