Attention rumor mill: there was no ICE action in Shoreline

Generic Home Depot photo

Around 2:30pm on Wednesday, Shoreline police were investigating a report that three high school students had stolen a maintenance golf cart from an apartment complex near Aurora Village.

Officers located the students and chased them through the Aurora Village parking lot in the vicinity of Home Depot. At least one of them was captured.

Up the block at the corner of Aurora Village, Hispanic day laborers congregate to wait for jobs.

An eyewitness to the police chase put those facts together and posted this to her Facebook page:

This happened today!
"Went to Home Depot to buy some lumber. ICE agents were in the parking lot arresting guys stumping for work..."

Not ICE agents, said the Seattle ICE representative.

"Our deportation officers conduct targeted enforcement operations every day in locations around the country as part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to protect the nation, uphold public safety and protect the integrity of our immigration laws and border controls. 

"These operations involve existing, established Fugitive Operations Teams. 

"ICE does not conduct sweeps, checkpoints or raids that target aliens indiscriminately."

In other words, they would be looking for specific individuals, not doing random sweeps of day laborers.

Meanwhile, the Facebook post is being widely spread and embellished. People are giving each other advice about what to do when confronted by police.

The King County Sheriff's office is doing its best to dispel the rumors, releasing this statement to all media:

There was NO ICE or immigration related police activity at the Shoreline Home Depot earlier this week. We had a large police presence  related to a theft that occurred at a nearby apartment complex and the suspects were seen in the area of Home Depot!