On the morning of Feb. 17, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and vehicles were spotted in Lawrence. These sightings have been confirmed with photos and videos by Sanctuary Alliance. According to Sanctuary Alliance’s Instagram, ICE was confirmed to be observed in five locations, near RevCity Church, the CVS on 23rd and Iowa, Hillcrest Elementary, Hobby Lobby and Raising Cane’s.

Following the ICE sightings, Sanctuary Alliance reported that three people have been detained. One person was detained in the CVS parking lot on 23rd and Iowa, another in the Hobby Lobby parking lot and three agents reportedly tackled and detained a third person outside Raising Cane’s. The Lawrence Times was only able to confirm one of the detainments through photos and video.

The organization reporting these arrests is Sanctuary Alliance, a grassroots group advocating for immigrants’ rights in Lawrence. The founder of the organization, Mariel Ferreiro, says the group uses information from a hotline. She is asking people to call or text the phone number with information about ICE, as well as any possible photos or videos.

“We have been trying to get people to give us as much information as possible when they are able to on those calls… We use this handy acronym called S.A.L.U.T.E. [it] stands for size, action, location, uniform, time and date,” Ferreiro said.

According to The Lawrence Times, agents were seen wearing tactical vests reading “POLICE” and “ERO,” which stands for the branch of ICE, “Enforcement and Removal Operations.” According to the article by The Lawrence Times, ICE agents were seen in a blue Nissan SUV with flashing lights on the inside of the vehicle and no clear markings.

You can reach the Sanctuary Alliance hotline at 785-289-5143 to report sightings and the Somos Lawrence hotline at 785-813-1098 to report information.