Suspected ICE agents allegedly surveilled Ibero-American Action League facilities including a childcare center throughout the day Wednesday in northeast Rochester.
The activity — which included filming staffers — continued for more than six hours but did not result in anyone being detained and had no clear intended target, said Angélica Pérez-Delgado, president and CEO of the dual-language human services nonprofit.
She described the tactics using words like “torment” and “haunting,” praising staffers for following established protocol but adding it was with a mix of calm, tears and panic.
“I've seen this fear before in the eyes of our families. But today, I saw that fear in the eyes of my staff,” she said, continuing: “You know, it's like sharks circling the waters. So it was it was a very scary situation for us.”
While the surveillance included government vehicles, officials said, it was not clear what agency or agencies were involved. Ibero officials contacted city, county, and federal leaders, but received no answers. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to media inquiries.
All of Ibero’s staff are citizens or otherwise documented, Pérez-Delgado said, with legal status to live and work in the United States.
“What I don’t understand is, if they have a warrant, if they are looking for somebody, they can pick them up at home, they can pick them up on the road,” she said.
There have been reports elsewhere of federal immigration agents targeting nonprofit immigrant service agencies, particularly those providing legal services. But CIty Council Miguel Meléndez, who is Ibero’s chief community engagement officer, said this is a first for the organization.
Protocol was for staffers to immediately notify executive leadership when the spotted one of the vehicles in the parking lot of the main campus at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday. Pérez-Delgado said that when she arrived, she approached one of the vehicles and spoke with a man who wore a green vest with yellow lettering. She asked if he was there for services, and he smirked, she said, telling her he was not. She then told him to leave the property, she continued, and he quickly complied, followed by two other vehicles.
She did not ask what agency he was with or seek other information, she said, as she was thinking instead about her next steps had he refused.
After leaving the parking lot, though, one of the vehicles stopped and parked for a time on the street, she said.
Staffers blocked off the parking lot, initially turning visitors away then screening them before entry. Some people were sent home, while others continued to arrive and be allowed in for services. Ibero also hosts a senior center, programs for people with developmental disabilities, and provides emergency rental assistance and other crisis intervention programs.
After Ibero staff secured the properties, she said, the unmarked vehicles began circling, passing the campus, and the central office and childcare center down the street, every half hour. Or they would park briefly outside. That activity continued at least until 3 p.m., she said.
Ibero will remain open Thursday with controlled access, Pérez-Delgado said, anticipating the surveillance could continue. But she is discouraging people from coming out to protest, or gather in support, as often happens in response to ICE activity.
“I run a licensed facility that has multiple state agencies providing oversight. I cannot have a crowd in front of an early childhood center,” she said, or a center serving seniors or people with disabilities. "To have people in front of our facility can bring regulatory action. It can also create emotional chaos for people who don’t have the ability to process what is going on.”
