A video, recently shared with the Butler Eagle, claims Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained a person around 8 a.m. Jan. 21 at a Cranberry Township underpass near Rochester and Graham School roads.

The video, reposted and deemed ICE activity by Frontline Dignity -- a Western Pennsylvania organization that aims to support affected communities and inform people about how they can document ICE activity -- did not receive the same media attention a handful of other Cranberry-area ICE incidents have received. However, it’s not the only ICE arrest that didn’t make the news.

“We hear about these happening every day. We hear about people being captured, being kidnapped,” Jaime Martinez, Frontline Dignity’s executive director, said. “And it’s really draining to hear the same stuff over and over again and to respond to.”

Thirty-six undocumented immigrants were arrested in Butler County in a collaboration between the sheriff’s office and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement since November.

That month marked the beginning of the Butler County Sheriff’s Office’s involvement in the arrests. In seven operations, the collaboration led to the arrest of undocumented immigrants from Brazil, China, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico.

Before that, sixteen people were taken into custody Aug. 7 after ICE raided Emiliano’s locations in Cranberry Township, Butler County, and Richland Township, Allegheny County, locations.

The raid at the Mexican restaurant and a Jan. 22 incident at a construction site were documented and coverage appeared in regional news, including in the Butler Eagle.

As the number of operations by ICE increases nationwide — adding to a constantly evolving situation around immigration in this country — Martinez said the same thing is happening here in Western Pennsylvania.

It’s difficult to judge how many people ICE has arrested without assistance of the sheriff’s office in the region, he said.

Martinez said, “Steady patterns have started to show up.”

“It’s absolutely accurate to say we are seeing an increase around the region, like across the nation,” Martinez later continued.

The Jan. 21 incident happened a day before eight individuals were detained by ICE agents at Ryan Homes at Park Place Townhomes.

The Butler Eagle did not receive a reply from ICE on the Jan. 21 incident, but ICE had earlier confirmed the Jan. 22 incident.

Leadership for Casa San Jose, a Pittsburgh-based Latino support group, said in addition to well-documented activity in Pittsburgh, it is seeing notable activity in neighborhoods north of the city, such as around Wexford and up into Cranberry Township.

“We are seeing a lot of people being detained, detentions happening daily,” said Monica Ruiz, executive director of Casa San Jose. “It’s happening at work places; it happens a lot with people driving to work too.”

Nationally, ICE’s enforcement and removal operations have arrested over 397,800 people since President Donald Trump’s second inauguration, according to its own data. As of Feb. 7, around 68,300 are currently being held in detention.

Many have ended up being released from ICE custody over time. But in total, around 396,400 arrested by ICE have been deported during the current administration, according to ICE data.

“We’re seeing a lot more people calling in to our hot line. We have many families calling for assistance, because maybe the main breadwinner of the family was detained or deported,” Ruiz said. “This is happening at a higher rate.”

National outlets have also reported that ICE plans to purchase warehouses across the country that will create capacity to hold more than 75,000 additional detainees. This includes at least two potential sites in eastern Pennsylvania.

Pointing to his experience as a community defense organizer with Casa San Jose, Martinez describes a chaotic scene on the ground, where there is a clear collapse in trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement.

The situation is so tense that Casa San Jose recently moved all of its operations to a virtual setting due to safety concerns.

There are several contributors to this, Martinez said.

It is difficult to tell the difference between types of law enforcement agents, for example. With agents — masked, unidentifiable and making arrests without warrants — an element fear and paranoia lingers, traumatizing neighborhoods and communities, he said.

“All of these situations are traumatic, especially for the families involved, but also the communities that know these people,” Martinez said.

While they make up a small portion of the total population, there still are thousands of people of Hispanic and Latino descent living in and around Butler County.

According to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data, Hispanic or Latino residents make up about 2% of Butler County — which would account for about 4,000 people. To the south, Allegheny County has a much larger Hispanic and Latino population, as well as other ethnic communities.

Even beyond the surge in arrests of documented and undocumented immigrants, immigration policy is consistently in disarray, a Pittsburgh-based immigration attorney said.

These days, changes around immigration policy can be made at a rapid-fire pace, with very little notice, thanks to executive orders by Trump and other sudden decision-making by his administration, said attorney Jason Karavias. An example of this is the late-January decision by the Trump administration to pause issuing visas for 75 countries.

Normally, bigger changes are done in Congress by passing a law. These days, a lot is being done by executive order or other mechanisms, Karavias said.

“With normal rule-making, when you want to make a change, you have to propose it, have a public comment period, eventually it takes effect after a certain date... Things now have very little notice.”

These developments hit especially hard as resources for immigrant communities are limited, said Karavias, who works with people all over Western Pennsylvania and beyond.

There’s not a single immigration office in northern West Virginia, he said, which prompts immigrants from all over the region, including much of West Virginia, to go to the immigration office in Monroeville if they want to become an authorized resident via visas or green cards.

The Latino Community Center, another Pittsburgh-based group, addressed the increased ICE activity earlier this month. In a Feb. 4 social media post, it encouraged members of the immigrant community to “limit travel as much as possible,” and that “now is the time to review your rights.”

“The community is on edge. People think twice about going grocery shopping or traveling,” Martinez said. “But also, we’ve seen a lot of our neighbors stick up for one another.”

So many incidents go undocumented, Martinez said, after high-profile incidents like the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Calls have come in to Frontline Dignity, with both accurate and inaccurate information; the organization aims to verify the information and prevent misinformation.

But the heightened awareness adds to the chaotic setting. It also includes lots of attempts at scamming in these kinds of communities, too.

“We know as much as people report to us,” Martinez said.

As incidents rise, groups like Frontline Dignity have stepped into the spotlight to inform people on how to properly and legally document ICE activity while warning and supporting others.

The group’s goals include helping people stay “safe and grounded,” telling people to not interfere with active operations, document only from a public space and share information responsibly.

Martinez and others have led “dignity and action rapid response training” to educate people on how to be safe. These events in Pittsburgh have drawn as many as 500 people.

Here in Butler County, the group held an event in the Zelienople area. While more low profile, the event drew a standing-room-only crowd, Martinez said.

This aligns with a common trend advocates like Martinez are seeing: hyperlocalized networks forming to figure out how to meet needs emotionally and physically.

This is an unintended consequence of “the fear and the trauma that federal immigration enforcement is inflicting on our communities,” Martinez said.

There are a number of tips the group gives out to immigrants and others who are at risk or have increased fear over ICE activity in their neighborhoods.

This includes following reputable, trustworthy sources not sharing misinformation.

Immigrants who are afraid should make a plan, Martinez said. This includes prepping temporary guardianship forms ahead of time, so someone is legally designated in case anything happens to you. Other areas include power of attorney, so someone proper has access to bank accounts.

He said it’s important for those at risk to talk with a lawyer — and not a random lawyer, but someone with community trust who can produce legitimate credentials like a bar number or certification.

If not a U.S. citizen, have documentation on you. Martinez said things have gotten to the point where he’s learned of local people tape to and wear their passports on their body.

“Unfortunately, these are pretty wild times. We don’t always know the right answer. I would recommend anyone that can take whatever documentation they have, have it with them,” Ruiz said. “People have a valid fear. Everyone should be afraid. I worry about the normalization of these people patrolling the streets. That’s not the America our ancestors fought and died for. It’s dangerous.”

Frontline Dignity also directs people to its hotline: 412-536-6423 (412-53-NO-ICE). Casa San Jose’s is 412-343-3111.

The reality these families face, Martinez and Ruiz said, is that conversations are being had about how they can stay safe during these times, when even documented immigrants are in the news being detained and held in custody.

Communities are making efforts to care for their neighbors, something that’s beautiful to see, he said, but this shouldn’t have to happen in the first place.

“This is not a way to live. This is something that is really unfortunate,” Martinez said.