On Tuesday morning, numerous officers in plain clothes and some with bulletproof vests knocked on an apartment door and called for the door to be opened.
The family had recently installed a surveillance camera. From inside, they watched as officers surrounded the apartment building.
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WATCH HEREAccording to several witnesses who spoke to NBC 5, the officers asked for Jose Aguirre. However, neighbors said they do not know anyone by that name.
Property management confirmed no one by that name lived at or near the apartment where officers asked for a warrant. The officers, according to management, only had a list of names.
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SIGN UP The family told NBC 5 they received a call from management warning that ICE was outside of their apartment.
“Request a warrant, that they slide a judicial warrant under the door for you to confirm that it's actually a warrant that they have authority for you, to speak with you,” immigration attorney Oscar Escoto said.
Escoto said the family acted within their rights, adding that their fear is justified.
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“There [are] reports that local agencies are working with ICE in terms of enforcement actions,” Escoto said.
NBC 5 confirmed that some of the officers shown in this video were from the Grapevine Police Department and were there as part of an ongoing investigation.
A spokesperson for Grapevine police refused to give further comment. On Wednesday, the agency responded to NBC 5’s public records request.
“The city has made a good faith determination that the information you requested deals with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime and the release of the records would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of an open or pending criminal matter,” the response read in part.
Surveillance video showed that officers returned to the apartment later Tuesday afternoon. A search warrant was once again not provided. Instead, the family said, a note asking for a call back was left at their door.
“They're not obligated to call back. What's triggering here is you need a warrant to start that process,” Escoto said. “ICE, they can keep on coming back, whether you open the door or not.”
The family said they will continue to monitor who knocks on their door; however, they fear that contacting authorities could lead to the possibility of the entire family being deported.
“A collateral arrest is any other individual who they may not have been targeting, but who is here in violation of US immigration law, that they're being picked up as well,” Escoto said. “We're seeing a lot of collateral arrests at this time.”
