MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Members of Latino Memphis are working to spread the word about a fake bounty hunter who says he’s rounding up illegal immigrants for the feds. Some say he’s extorting money from his victims.
When questioned about what right he had to round up immigrants, he didn’t have good answers.
“We just say, ‘hey you got your green card?’ If not, boom you’re gone.”
“Are you a federal agent?”
“No, I’m a bail bondsman.”
“I understand what that means. But you’re just kind of a vigilante going around trying to round up immigrants, right?”
At events like one on Winchester Road, fliers are handed out to members of the Latino community. Activists are spreading the word about the bounty hunter and the recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.
“ICE is picking up randomly, and I think it emboldens criminals to say, you know, we can have that approach and be successful,” Pastor Orlando Rosaro said.
Immigration and Customs agents have saturated the Latino community in Shelby County since the weekend. They are arresting adults who entered the country illegally as children, and they’re looking for anyone with gang ties.
The fliers tell people what to do and who to call for help.
“There’s a sense of persecution, there’s a sense of the community being terrorized by the ICE immigration department,” Rosaro said. “It’s racial profiling, and they’re picking up any Latino they see.”
But now with a new threat in the community, they want everyone to be on alert.