US citizens detained in Milwaukee? Viral interview sparks concern | FOX6 Milwaukee

US citizens detained in Milwaukee? Viral interview sparks concern

An interview about the possible U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention of citizens in Milwaukee went viral. FOX6 News is working to verify the report, which caused a shakeup in Latino communities. Here's what we know so far.

Viral video

What we know:

In an interview with Telemundo in Puerto Rico, an anonymous person said ICE detained U.S. citizens of Puerto Rican descent in Milwaukee

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It happened after the people were overheard speaking Spanish at a department store, according to the interviewee. The person said their family members were not allowed to speak to officers until they arrived at a detention center, where they then provided proper identification and were released.

(Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

What we don't know:

To verify the incident, FOX6 News reached out to ICE, the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office. Here are responses from each agency's spokesperson.

ICE: "Typically, I need an A number and DOB to request further details. Can you provide those? If you don’t have them, that is a good indicator that the information you are considering is false."

MCSO: "I’ve checked with agency leadership, and no one at the Sheriff’s Office is aware of any such arrests. If it did occur, it did not involve the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office. Nor is anyone being detained at the Milwaukee County Jail related to this alleged arrest incident."

8th and Mitchell, Milwaukee

Community shaken

Local perspective:

Since the interview went viral, it has shaken up the community and caused panic for some in Milwaukee.

"We are seeing it all. People are really feeling scared," said Myra Echaverria.

"When people watch it, it leaves an impact," said Heladio Garcia.

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Cain Oulahan is an immigration attorney and policy advisor with Forward Latino. The organization said it could not provide information about the interview. 

"It's not legal for them to detain a U.S. citizen. That is a violation of their civil rights," Oulahan said of the viral interview's unverified claims.

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Voces de la Frontera also wants the public to be aware of potentially false reports.

"There is a lot of panic in the community. We don't want to add panic to that fear," Jessica Schmidt, the orgnization's digital director, said. "At Voces, we have created a 24/7 hotline which every single case that comes through we take the time to verify and double check."

Editor's note: Some interviews featured in this story were conducted in Spanish. The speakers' remarks were translated into English.

The Source: FOX6 News reviewed the Telemundo interview, reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office, and conducted interviews with local organizations and residents for information in this report.

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