In the past month, videos showing United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, agents at multiple worksites in Bryan have circulated across social media. The footage, which appears to show agents pursuing individuals, has raised questions and concerns among community members about ICE’s presence in the Bryan-College Station area.
According to a KBTX report, Bryan became one of the latest Texas cities to see ICE activity after the agency conducted enforcement operations in late September. ICE officials said that the actions were part of an effort to locate and arrest individuals with prior criminal convictions or final orders of removal. However, the operations sparked alarm among local residents and those connected to immigrant and student communities across Bryan-College Station.
Vanessa Marie Ponce, executive director of the Brazos Interfaith Immigration Network, said that the recent increase in ICE presence — along with broader national conversation regarding immigration — has had a strong effect on the immigrant community in Brazos County.
“The current anti-immigration rhetoric coming from many politicians and executive orders in regards to immigration policies is creating a climate of fear, anxiety and uncertainty,” Ponce said.
Ponce said that this fear isn’t limited to just undocumented residents, claiming that changing federal policies have made it unclear who may be vulnerable to detention or deportation.
“Large portions of the immigrant community, not just undocumented individuals, are at risk for detention and deportation,” Ponce said. “This can include DACA recipients, temporary protected status holders and even green card holders due to the constant changing policies.”
According to Ponce, the growing uncertainty has had noticeable consequences in the community, including a fear of seeking necessary resources including healthcare and safety resources.
“There is a heightened fear to access community resources and it is not just the Brazos Interfaith Immigration Network that has seen that heightened fear, but also healthcare resources and under-reporting when there are victims of crime,” Ponce said.
Ponce said that there are often misunderstandings about immigrants and how policy shifts affect them, explaining that even those following legal processes may face uncertainty under current conditions.
“This is not just impacting the immigrants that are undocumented,” Ponce said. “These can be immigrants that are falling under lawful categories. With the changing policies it is placing everybody at a greater risk. We have seen the repeal of different humanitarian programs, and we saw earlier this year where different groups lost their protected status. When people think immigrants, they think all are unlawful, but that is not what this is.”
While concerns are high, local law enforcement officials say that they are not directly involved in federal immigration operations. Public Information Officer for the Brazos County Sheriff’s Office Nathan Dennis said that although ICE sometimes notifies them when agents are in the area, the sheriff’s office does not participate in or assist them with enforcement.
“ICE officers will sometimes let us know if they are in our jurisdiction, but we do not assist them, and are not involved in anything going on,” Dennis said.
Dennis said that the sheriff’s office has a separate role from federal immigration authorities, focusing solely on enforcing state laws and maintaining community safety.
“We serve different roles, most of the local law enforcement focuses more on police services for our jurisdiction,” Dennis said. “We aren’t going out to try and verify people’s citizenship, our role is to enforce the laws of the state.”
Dennis also said that students and residents seeking clarification about recent operations should contact ICE directly, through their Conroe office.
“I would defer individuals to reach out to ICE and their public information officer to speak with them and be able to explain what their role and objectives are,” Dennis said.
