"Ice Cream Truck Has Arrived"... US Immigrants Band Together to Avoid Illegal Stay Crackdown

by Koo Nari

Published 02 Feb.2025 20:02(KST)

Updated 02 Feb.2025 20:09(KST)

Immigrant Communities Share Locations of Enforcement Agents via Social Media

In response to U.S. President Donald Trump's large-scale crackdown on illegal immigrants, immigrant communities are reportedly utilizing social networking services (SNS).

In December 2016, a protest against President Donald Trump's immigration policy was held in New York City, USA. Photo by Reuters-Yonhap News

On the 1st (local time), the U.S. daily The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that immigrant rights organizations in the U.S. have been preparing for the Trump administration's intensified immigration enforcement since shortly after the U.S. presidential election last November. Brandon Lee, the communications director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), stated that they planned to repurpose their existing immigrant hotline to notify each other about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids.

They also shared methods for immigrant rights education with 100 member organizations, which reportedly created a joint response network based on SNS and other platforms. Their strategy involves individuals who witness "suspicious activities" contacting the ICIRR hotline, which then asks other organizations to verify the activities and share on-site videos and photos to raise awareness.

In fact, when ICE agents appeared on Chicago's Little Village street, activists in Little Village shared the agents' locations in real-time via SNS. Little Village is home to a large Hispanic immigrant population. Chicago City Council member Michael Rodriguez said, "Videos and messages flooded in," adding, "People followed the agents until they left the neighborhood." He further noted that the agents ultimately failed to make any arrests.

As activists systematically tracked ICE movements and shared how to respond when encountering agents, it has reportedly become more difficult to carry out arrests despite the policy to expand immigrant detentions. In addition to organizations, voluntary information sharing among SNS users is also active. To avoid censorship, clever euphemisms such as "ICE cream truck spotted" have emerged.

However, some caution that such activities could lead to fearmongering. Daniel Morales, a professor at the University of Virginia Commonwealth, explained, "A delicate balance is needed between conveying information and creating fear that deters immigrants from going outside," advising, "It is best to verify actual events and follow the accounts of local immigrant organizations."

Meanwhile, tension among Korean immigrants in the U.S. is rising after the first case of a Korean illegal immigrant being arrested was reported on the 31st of last month. Related organizations estimate that among the approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., Koreans account for about 1.3 to 1.4%, or roughly 140,000 to 150,000 people, based on the proportion of the population by country of origin.