The Real Story: Police say social posts about ICE in Benton Twp. are false

BENTON TOWNSHIP, MI -- Recently, photos have been circulating on social media claiming ICE was in the Benton Harbor area.

Benton Township Police said in a social media post that the allegations of ICE being in the area - chasing someone down Union Avenue - were false.

Benton Township Police Chief Greg Abrams said ICE was not conducting operations in the area - and this was related to a separate investigation involving Benton Township officers.

The photo shows officers and what appears to be men in plain clothes with face coverings.

Abrams says a lot of agencies may dress differently or hide their identities.

“That picture was taken out of context. Somebody took a picture of our department along with some masked civilians, okay, those masked civilians were officers, but they were not ICE agents, so they were running an ops program at the time," said Abrams.

Chief Abrams says the Berrien County sheriff is in charge of letting them know if ICE will be in the area.

He says if people see a post or photo and want to know if ICE is in the area, they can call their department if they see them in Benton Township at 269-926-8221.

“We can either quickly dispel or confirm if these sightings were indeed correct,” said Abrams.

Ashley Sanchez is the Director of Notre Dame’s immigration clinic and a law professor at the University of Notre Dame.

“I think people hear rumors or maybe they see something suspicious and then they post about it on social media trying to help their neighbors out, but a lot of times this information can be wrong, and it makes it really difficult to know what's true and what isn't, and it can actually create panic,” said Sanchez.

For people who are concerned about ICE being in their area, this is Sanchez’ advice:

“And this includes immigrants and U. S. Citizens, is just to be prepared. So that means understanding your rights under the Constitution. So, the right to remain silent, the right to speak with your attorney before signing any documents or things like that, and also carrying paperwork with you. So, if you have a green card or you have immigration documents, I recommend taking those. So even if you are stopped by ICE, you're covered, and I recommend this for U. S. Citizens as well if you're concerned,” said Sanchez.