ICE agents arrest a Greenfield man at his home.

A Greenfield man was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at his home on a residential street on the morning of Thursday, May 22.

The man's name has not been released, but representatives of the Solidarity Network, a volunteer-led organization that monitors ICE activity and provides legal observers and helps locate legal representation for people facing ICE enforcement action in Monterey County, says the man is in his 30s and is originally from Mexico. They say he was detained by plainclothes officers as he exited his home to take his child to school. 

ICE officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday afternoon, nor have they released a statement about this arrest.

Greenfield Police Chief Guillermo Mixer says a police sergeant was notified before and after the arrest by ICE, but his agency was not involved. He adds that he is grateful this ICE action appeared to be very targeted and specific. "We want our community to be safe," he says. "There is a lot of fear that if you are undocumented and you are in the household, they are going to take you too." In this case, only one individual—not an entire family or building or block—was arrested. 

"They were very specific and selective about how they went about it," Mixer says. "If they have to do it, the way they did it was prudent and discrete, so I appreciate that."

Solidarity Network legal observers were not on the scene. They say the man is currently being held at an ICE detention center in California and they are trying to help him find legal representation. 

"In general, this is pretty much how ICE has operated for the last more than decade," a Solidarity Network representative says of the targeted activity. "This is not unexpected."

In a five-day enforcement action in the region in 2017, during the first Trump administration, ICE announced they arrested 54 foreign nationals on the Central Coast of California, including 19 in Monterey County, the largest number in a seven-county area. 

Solidarity Network leaders encourage people who could be at risk, particularly those with deportation orders, to keep red cards handy with guidance on their rights when interacting with an ICE agent. "We urge community members to remain calm and vigilant," the Solidarity Network said in a statement.