Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials arrested 13 individuals at an Armstrong County driver’s license center on Friday, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed to KDKA-TV on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The 13 individuals, described by DHS as “illegal aliens,” were arrested outside the West Kittanning location. They are from countries including Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan.<\/p>\n
One of them resisted arrest and assaulted a local officer, DHS said.<\/p>\n
Long lines inside and a packed parking lot, with multiple tractor-trailers, caught the attention of people at and near the DMV on Friday.<\/p>\n
“I tried to call ICE that morning when I noticed all the foreigners in there and nobody was speaking English,” said Gary Klingensmith, who lives across from the DMV.<\/p>\n
While he didn’t get through to ICE, DHS said the East Franklin Police Department did. Concerned citizens had reported to local police an abnormally large number of individuals outside the driver’s license center, a DHS spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
“I just know it’s odd,” Klingensmith said.<\/p>\n
He said he saw people packed inside the cabs of the tractor-trailers.<\/p>\n
“They opened the door, 10 people came out,” he said.<\/p>\n
“There wasn’t any kind of suspicious activity going on. You know, they were standing at the door with papers in their hands,” Ryan Moore said, explaining she was there when ICE arrived. “I saw some ICE agents taking down a whole bunch of people.”<\/p>\n
Klingensmith said a large number of individuals ran through his lawn as ICE agents made arrests.<\/p>\n
It remains uncertain why such a big group was there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh-based ICE rapid response group Frontline Dignity released a statement about the incident.<\/p>\n
“An alleged website error is directing people to the West Kittanning DMV for in-person commercial drivers’ license renewal, but the service is not available there,” Frontline Dignity’s Facebook statement read.<\/p>\n
According to Frontline Dignity’s website, they offer trainings that help communities “respond safely and ethically to immigration enforcement in real time.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
KDKA-TV did find a sign saying DOT\/CDL exams are offered at the building, but the sign was at the chiropractor’s office, not the DMV.<\/p>\n
The DHS said, “The incident remains under investigation.”<\/p>\n
KDKA-TV reached out to PennDOT for a response and is waiting to hear back.<\/p>\n
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