NORRISTOWN, PA – A seemingly Hispanic-focused farmer's market located in a small town within Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, was the site of an immigration raid earlier in July that saw 14 employees of the market arrested.
On July 16th, the Super Gigante Market (Giant Super Market in English) located within the West Norriton neighborhood of Norristown was the site of an immigration enforcement operation that saw 14 employees arrested, according to local reports.
Authorities reportedly obtained a search warrant for the farmer's market, likely due to evidence of undocumented immigrants being illegally employed at the establishment.
All of the 14 individuals taken into custody were Hispanic males, all of whom were illegally in the country, according to authorities.
The manager of the farmer's market told a local news outlet that the undocumented migrants were “in the process of trying to become U.S. citizens,” but it’s unclear precisely what steps any of the men arrested had taken prior to their arrest.
Hollie Havens, an area resident who’d witnessed the immigration enforcement operation unfold, told a local news outlet, “I saw about seven or eight, what I believe to be, ICE agents.
Men and women dressed in full camo, faces covered…looked to be holding some kind of rifle. I've only seen ICE raids like that on the news. I've never seen one in person. It broke my heart.”
In the hours following the raid, a sort of prayer vigil took place at the farmer's market, with locals and community leaders attending to lend prayers and also frame the ICE raid as a net negative.
Denisse Agurto, who attended the vigil, is the executive director of Unides Para Servir Norristown, a nonprofit which claims to empower “the latino community of Norristown area with resources guidance and advocates to be independent and improve their quality of life, prevailing equality, equity and inclusion,” according to their mission statement on their Facebook page.
While speaking with a local news outlet, Agurto noted that the farmer's market was aware of an impending ICE raid due to a previous visit by agents, saying, “The time when they came last time, they said they were coming back. So, we [were] trying to give them their red cards and give them information.”
The investigation into the business is still ongoing, according to authorities.
