Tensions rise as Montco town reflects on immigration raid at supermarket

The effects of a federal immigration operation last month at a local supermarket where more than a dozen undocumented individuals were detained remained fervently felt inside a West Norriton Township government meeting last week.

West Norriton Township commissioners voted unanimously to enact a new policy surrounding police interaction with federal immigration agents, joining Ambler and Norristown, to institute protocol amid escalation immigration enforcement actions across Montgomery County.

“The one thing our police department is committed to safeguarding public safety while ensuring compliance with constitutional and civil rights protections,” said Township Manager Jason Bobst.

Public comment surrounding the incident and a new policy surrounding police interaction with federal agents had tensions mounting as those in attendance expressed outrage and frustration.

“Our entire community was shaken by the events of July 16, and we are still feeling the effects, as evidenced by our speakers tonight,” said West Norriton Township Commissioner Roseann Milazzo.

ICE raids West Norriton market

The July 16 incident sent shockwaves through the area as witnesses observed a number of vehicles and more than two dozen agents donning masks and military gear swarm the parking lot of a shopping center containing the Super Gigante – West Norriton Farmers Market, located at 1930 W. Main St.

Advocates, community members and elected officials have raised repeated concerns about the increased U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement-related activities and whether agents are following established protocol. Several people have claimed agents are not producing judicial warrants when detaining residents or following other legal requirements.

An ICE spokesperson confirmed to MediaNews Group that agents from several federal agencies “conducted a federal court-authorized search” at the Montgomery County-based supermarket.

“During the execution of the search warrant, 14 individuals were encountered who did not have legal status to be in the United States. These 14 individuals were taken into ICE custody pending removal proceedings,” an ICE spokesperson said in a statement to MediaNews Group last month.

Anne Pavone, president of the West Norriton Township Board of Commissioners, stood outside the market last month and was “appalled” by what she saw.

“ICE is supposed to be taking criminals. The people they got from Gigante were not murderers, they were not rapists, they’re not gang members. They were people that worked at Gigante, and there were people that were shopping in there,” Pavone said. “They’re taking people that are married to U.S. citizens, they’re taking people that are going to their own immigration hearings … and they’re being detained in inhumane and unsafe conditions.”

Milazzo was not present that day, instead learning of the incident on social media.

“I was horrified by pictures of what looked like stormtroopers on the roof of a market in West Norriton. It looked like we were under attack; a scene from a war movie,” Milazzo said.

“What also struck me were the photos and videos of observers and protesters who remained peaceful, despite some of them having guns aimed at them, even when they had their hands raised, my assessment is that ICE came looking for a fight,” Milazzo said.

Aurora Stuski, a West Norriton Township resident running for a seat on the local governing board, blasted Milazzo, asserting that “the vilification of our law enforcement has to stop.”

“These people work for us. They’re here to protect our laws,” she said.

Five West Norriton Township Commissioners issued a joint statement on social media in the days following the “military style invasion,” as they “fully and emphatically condemn actions taken in our community.”

“These types of events here, and anywhere else in our country, terrorize communities and make the most vulnerable among us feel unsafe,” West Norriton Township officials said in a July 18 statement.

Stuski refuted the “emotionally charged” post. “I get it, people are emotional. You have your different points of views, but please do not paint any of our law enforcement like they are some sort of enemy.” What followed was a tense exchange between Milazzo and Stuski.

West Norriton police on scene

Area residents noted the presence of West Norriton Township police officers who were on scene that day. Officials emphasized they were there solely in a public safety capacity.

“I had no problem with anything that our police force did,” Pavone said. “I thought they … ke[pt] the peace, and I think that’s as it should be,” Pavone said.”

“They kept the perimeter, and kept people away … but regardless … them being there that morning sent a message to the community, and to the Latino community that the police are not on their side,” Community for Change Montgomery County Lead Organizer Stephanie Vincent told MediaNews Group.

A subsequent statement posted to the township’s Facebook page acknowledged advance notice given by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, but township officials maintained officers were there to “maintain order during the execution of a judicial warrant.”

“Local police were not involved in the planning, investigation, or enforcement of federal immigration laws. Their role was limited to ensuring the safety of residents and officers on the scene,” township officials said on July 22.

‘To vilify these people is wrong’

Rev. Dr. Rachael Lawrence, of the King of Prussia-based American Baptist Home Mission Society, had an exchange with a Columbian-born colleague who watched the federal immigration enforcement operation from a bus.

“He was terrified by what he saw, because he knows of the possibility of civil rights being broken, and he’s grown up in areas where civil rights get broken easily,” Lawrence said.

Benny Mosakowski, of West Norriton Township, swiftly criticized the actions that have taken place across the nation, as well as in his own backyard as he called on elected officials to do more to protect their constituents.

“People live here, people love here, people provide here, people look for opportunities they couldn’t find anywhere else in this world. They came here to be a part of this community. To vilify these people is wrong,” Mosakowski said. “To misunderstand them is wrong. To watch as they’re taken away – there [were] people in that store that had children that don’t know where their parents are at. This is ridiculous.”

Lawrence urged compassion from area residents and elected officials amid a tense political climate involving actions that impact human beings.

“I just want to urge that we all set a tone in this community that makes people feel safe, welcome and valued, especially when they’re tax-paying contributors to this society,” she said.