A child makes public comment during a Nov. 5, 2025 Norristown Municipal Council meeting as a group of people are seen standing behind him. (Rachel Ravina – MediaNews Group)
The impacts of months of immigration enforcement activity have taken a toll on area residents, evident as emotions spilled over during public comment at a recent municipal council meeting.
“We’re just very emotional right now,” a Norristown resident said. “It’s a very emotional time and period for us in a country where we used to feel very welcome here with open arms, where we used to feel very safe.”
“We are now in a position where we are terrified, not only for ourselves, but also for our children, and what’s happening in our community here, a community that I have been in for many, many years,” she continued. “I have raised my kids here, and now we’re seeing that there have been large impacts of fear.”
Federal immigration enforcement agents have been seen on numerous occasions in the Montgomery County seat as part of the ongoing crackdown that’s become a cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s second term.
Several area residents spoke in Spanish, sharing their experiences with the help of translators during the Nov. 5 Norristown Municipal Council meeting and asking for help to reassure their children that they will not be arrested if they talk to local police.
“I am a woman who has worked in this country for many years, and it’s just difficult to see them criminalizing us and making us out to be like we deserve what’s happening to us,” one woman said.
It’s unclear how many people have been detained by U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement operatives, but enforcement activity has continued to be seen in the months following an immigration raid in West Norriton Township where more than a dozen undocumented immigrants were detained at a supermarket.
“I’m here in the presentation of all the mothers, Latino mothers, who are fearing for their sons and their families who are being separated and what’s going on and the situation right now,” another resident said.
Atmosphere of fear
“I do know there’s bad people in the community, but not all of us are bad,” she said. “We’re just here to work to provide for our families … We don’t want to be in fear and we don’t want our children to be in fear either.”
Norristown, the county seat, has an estimated 35,769 residents with 32.9 percent of the population identifying as Hispanic or Latino, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures. The Norristown Area School District has 7,598 students enrolled during the 2024-25 academic year. Of those, school district data lists 52.8 percent as Hispanic.
“I’m here to ask you for guidance to offer help to us because it’s not fair that we have legal children here, but since we’re not legal, we can’t help them [deal with] fear of police officers. ICE is in town and they are afraid of even talking to someone to get help,” she said.
One child approached the podium, joined by a group of community members who rallied behind him, as he echoed those same concerns to elected officials.
“Hello, I came today to discuss that the situation today with ICE is really bad, and that we need … the police officers, to be on our side, not to be with the side of ICE agents because we, the whole community, we need people to protect us, and a lot of people, Latinos, are scared to call firefighters, police officers, anything,” he said.
Need for trust
The child was one of several speakers who pressed elected officials about public safety and the need to be able to trust local leaders, law enforcement and first responders in Norristown.
“I’m here to ask you guys to guide us, how to explain to our kids to not be in fear of a police officer if they see a police car to not hide,” a resident said. “How do I explain to my kids that they shouldn’t be hiding if they are on their way to school or home and they see a police officer or a police car?”
“My ask for you tonight is that we feel safe calling upon our police officers if there’s a house fire, if there’s an emergency, we want to know that we’re safe calling the police that we’re safe, to tell our children that it’s okay to call them … and that they are not working with ICE and immigration,” a resident said. “When we see these cases where kids and families are being torn apart every day, it’s our community, it’s our people, it’s our families that are being impacted by ICE and what’s happening here.”
Officials did not respond to those making public comment directly on Wednesday. The Municipality of Norristown issued an immigration-related policy earlier this year where Municipal Administrator Leonard Lightner stipulated in a Jan. 29 memorandum that “the municipality will not honor ICE detainer requests unless accompanied by a valid judicial warrant.”
Police chief reacts
When asked later, Norristown Police Chief Mike Trail shared his perspective.
“Obviously, I’m as alarmed as any other person would be at some of the tactics that have been employed to engage in immigration policy,” Trail said, adding “the Norristown Police Department does not engage in immigration enforcement activities by any means.”
“We don’t identify or ask people for their immigration status or any of that,” he continued. “We will comply with the lawful requirements that are placed upon us when such times arise that immigration is in town conducting operations, but our focus is to maintain the trust of the community, and let them know that we are trusted partners in taking care of the people who are here in Norristown.
“We’ll be watchful and mindful of … physical abuse at the hands of those who engage in immigration enforcement, and our officers are there to protect the community,” Trail said. “It is important that people be treated with respect, dignity and free from assault due to immigration status.”
