Undocumented migrants scour WhatsApp for ICE raids
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement carries out the Trump administration’s promise to target undocumented immigrants
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Daily TribuneThe Immigration and Customs Enforcement carries out the Trump administration’s promise to target undocumented immigrants
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Rosario's only lifeline is a community group on the messaging app that provides news about immigration raids in Washington neighborhoods
STRINGER / AFP
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Fearing a US immigration raid will separate her from her children, an undocumented Honduran immigrant hunkers down in her Washington home, anxiously scouring a WhatsApp group for real-time updates on nearby sweeps.
Rosario, a 35-year-old mother of two, practically lives in hiding in the face of US President Donald Trump’s sweeping campaign to arrest and deport millions of undocumented immigrants since his return to the White House in January.
Her only lifeline is a community group on the messaging app that provides news about immigration raids in Washington neighborhoods — often mixed with unverified or false information.
“You stay informed and stay a little more alert thanks to the group,” Rosario told Agence France-Presse (AFP) in her studio apartment, festooned with birthday balloons, stuffed toys, and a wall hanging made from corn husk.
“That way, you get rid of fear a little bit — but fear always persists,” said the part-time dishwasher, who crossed into the US in 2021 after an arduous journey from her home country.
Rosario, who refused to disclose her real name, peered through her window blinds for any lurking agents from ICE — the Immigration and Customs Enforcement department, which has been deployed to carry out the Trump administration’s promise to target undocumented immigrants.
“Alert: ICE activity was reported at a business center on (Mount) Pleasant around noon,” a message flashed in the group, adding that six masked agents were spotted in the Washington neighborhood and one person was detained.
It was not possible for Rosario to ascertain whether the tip was real or fake.
Still, she remained confident the community group, fed by other immigrants and advocates, provided reliable information — crucial for determining her limited movements to work and to purchase groceries.
Rosario also puzzled over another morsel of unverified information in the group that had not appeared in the mainstream media: that an undocumented female immigrant was detained by ICE at a school in the Bethesda neighborhood.
Immigration sweeps on educational institutions are rare, but the Trump administration has said it no longer considers sensitive locations such as schools, churches, and hospitals off-limits to agents. The policy has been legally challenged by religious organizations.
Such uncertainty and fear have spawned a flurry of rumors about suspected immigration raids and movements of ICE agents that ricochet across messaging apps and online platforms, leaving immigrant communities on edge.
In February, AFP’s fact-checkers debunked a viral online video that claimed to show an undocumented Colombian woman being expelled from the US. In reality, it was a fictionalized clip posted in 2023 by an American YouTuber.
