Fort Worth leaders urge caution on social media amid rise in speculation about ICE arrests

Amid a surge in demonstrations against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations taking place across the country, some Fort Worth city leaders are urging their community to be responsible on social media.

In an open letter, City Council Member Carlos Flores said online speculation about ICE arrests happening in the Historic Northside neighborhood is stoking fear.

NBC 5 News

NBC 5 News

As news and social media across the country light up with clashes between protestors and police, here in Fort Worth, some people have been seeing a rise in videos and pictures of law enforcement in their neighborhoods, with captions suggesting they were immigration operations.

“We don’t want to risk our families, for me it’s not worth it,” said one woman who didn’t want to be identified.

A Fort Worth woman who spoke with NBC 5 but didn’t want to show her face said posts claiming to show ICE operations were causing concern in Hispanic communities like the Historic Northside.

“Mostly just scared, we don’t know what’s real or not,” she said of the posts. “We just see a lot of stuff that’s going on on social media, it scares us.”

This week, Flores sent out a letter to the community addressing the online messages.

NBC 5 News

NBC 5 News

“While some social media posts about ICE may be well-intended, they often lack understanding and responsibility,” he wrote.

“There’s genuine concern, and I just want to make sure that people understand what these concerns mean, and not to needlessly concern the community at large, specifically our immigrant community,” Flores told NBC 5.

Flores said that anyone who sees a law enforcement action involving officers out of uniform should contact their Neighborhood Police Officer for information rather than turning to social media.

“My base concern is that I don’t want to needlessly create fear in any of our communities because that is not a constructive emotion,” said Flores. “Especially when we want cooperation from our residents to report crimes to our police department.”

Fort Worth Police Department interim Chief Robert Alldredge told NBC 5 that immigration enforcement is the responsibility of the federal government, not his department.

He said what some people may confuse for an ICE operation could be Fort Worth officers working out of uniform.

“Usually, whenever they go do roundups for warrants or for violent offenders or they’re doing undercover operations, you’re going to see them in plainclothes,” said Alldredge. “They’re going to blend in with society.”

Still, some in the Northside said right now, any flashing lights are a source of fear.

“It’s heartbreaking seeing all our community going through stuff, I don’t want that for anybody,” one resident said.