FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — People in a local community are reacting after a surveillance camera showed several men being chased and handcuffed by ICE agents.
“It’s sad what happened,” business owner Jose Arellano told Channel 2’s Tom Jones.
Arellano says the Chevron parking lot on Atlanta Highway used to be filled with day laborers, looking for work.
You won’t find one day laborer here now after the raid by ICE that took place two weeks ago.
“They came here and raided and took about 15 people,” he said.
Video shows several men running away after ICE enforcement agents showed up. An agent knocked a man running away into a wall before handcuffing him.
Drew Nietzer pulled up to the Chevron to get gas. He told Jones a solution is needed for suspected illegal immigrants who aren’t violent criminals, like allowing them to get work permits.
“We should find a way to keep them here. Get them legal,” he said
He added he’s for work permits, not allowing people in the U.S. illegally to become citizens.
Others have no problem with the raid. They say we have laws and laws need to be followed, and it doesn’t matter the day laborers are seeking work.
“Because there’s a lot of other people here that don’t have jobs that are following the rules,” said a man who gave his name as Tom.
“A lot of these guys were my laborers,” Arellano pointed out.
He says he has hired some of the men ICE took away in the raid for his pressure washing business. Arellano says they do jobs he can’t find anyone else to do.
“Trying to find more people is hard and you can see this place is empty now,” he said.
Some businesses in the area say so many immigrants in the area are now afraid to come out for fear they will be arrested by ICE. Those owners say that’s hurting their bottom line.
An ICE spokesman told Jones he hadn’t heard of this incident, but he says it’s what ICE does 7 days a week: Immigration enforcement.
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