Georgetown Police confirm ICE arrest within town limits

GEORGETOWN, Del. – Georgetown Police have confirmed an ICE investigation and arrest inside town limits. The arrest happened Tuesday and came after ICE notified Georgetown Police that they were working within the town limits.

While details of that ICE arrest are limited at this time, Lt. Joel Diaz of the Georgetown Police Department said they notified the public about that arrest to dispel rumors and provide more transparency.

“We felt it was important to provide the information that immigration had been here, they had detained and arrested an individual or individuals, that’s something we’re not aware of as to how many, and then they departed town safely and there were no concerns for public safety at that point,” said Lt. Diaz.

The Georgetown Police Department notified the public of an ICE investigation and arrest through a Facebook post earlier this week.

Lt. Diaz said this bout of transparency comes after rumors in the community have been swirling of other alleged ICE arrests.

“Some of the things we’ve heard were people were getting ripped out of their cars or arrested at restaurants, we went to those restaurants, we went to those locations and there was no evidence of any investigation or any police activity there that wasn’t the Georgetown Police,” said Diaz.

Lt. Diaz was unable to provide the location of Tuesday’s arrest, but says the department will continue to build public trust.

“I’m actually glad that the Georgetown Police Department did release a statement because there has been a lot of confusion and misinformation in the community since President Trump took office,” said Mike Brickner, Executive Director of ACLU of Delaware.

Brickner said that since the president’s inauguration, they have received at least one report a day about potential mass raids happening, but many are not true.

“But I also think that we have to take into account what is the experience of the community, people are so afraid right now and so when they also see there is action by ICE in the community, I think it just instills even more fear,” he said.

Brickner said the ACLU of Delaware is calling on statewide elected officials to take some more proactive action.

Anyone with public safety concerns should reach out to their local law enforcement agency.