CINCINNATI — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told WCPO 9 that agents arrested four individuals in East Price Hill on Saturday.
According to ICE, two of those arrested had prior criminal charges related to DUI and public intoxication, and all four were in the country illegally.
We spoke with witnesses who said the arrests took place Saturday morning outside the Kroger on Warsaw Avenue. Cincinnati police said they were not involved in the enforcement action.
In a statement to WCPO 9 News, a spokesperson for ICE said the four arrests took place during a "targeted enforcement operation."
Watch video of the arrests shared with us by Walter Vasquez:
Jefferry Orozco-Aguilar witnessed the arrests, saying it was an emotional scene.
"I could see the wife was visibly crying while trying to put on a brave face for her kids," Orozco-Aguilar said.
Hear more from those in the community who witnessed the arrests in the video below:
Orozco-Aguilar arrived at the Kroger to see multiple ICE agents in the parking lot. He spoke with a woman whose husband was detained as he attempted to enter the store to buy items for a birthday party. She alerted him that ICE agents were surrounding her husband.
"While I was driving her back home, I could hear her daughters crying in the background, asking for their father," Orozco-Aguilar said.
Butler County Jail records show that 24 people were booked that Saturday, with 15 of them having ICE holds.
“It hurts to see stuff like that; it really does. I’ve got PTSD, and when I see things like this, it hurts," said Edward Duskin, a 70-year-old East Price Hill resident.
Duskin told us he feels heartbroken and uneasy after witnessing the arrests. He also criticized President Trump's handling of immigration enforcement, and said there's a pervasive sense of fear in his neighborhood.
“Mexicans are all about community. They are about family, and we need more of that in America," he said.
Amber Kassem, president of the East Price Hill Community Council, said she's concerned about the unintended consequences of these ICE raids, particularly regarding potential business losses due to residents' fears of leaving their homes.
"Businesses shut down because they didn’t want anyone else to get caught up by coming to the neighborhood due to the uncertainty," Kassem said.
Orozco-Aguilar told us that one family he spoke with is particularly distressed, fearing their father may never return.
"They were asking me what they should do next, where he would be located. I just told them to find legal advice and get him a lawyer as soon as possible for his case," he said.
You can read the ICE spokesperson's full statement below:
“Immigration and Customs Enforcement, alongside DOJ partners, is conducting targeted enforcement operations across Ohio. On Saturday, during a targeted enforcement operation and subsequent investigation, ICE Cincinnati encountered and arrested four illegal aliens in the East Price Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati. Two of these individuals had criminal histories, including DUI and public intoxication, and all four were illegally present in the United States. They are currently being held in ICE custody at the Butler County Jail pending further immigration proceedings. All individuals in violation of U.S. immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention, and, if found removable by final order, removed from the U.S., regardless of nationality.”
