In Inglewood Wednesday morning, a white work van with ladders strapped to its roof sat empty in a parking lot near Sip Café. Employees inside told the Banner the van’s driver had been stopped by armed men in unmarked vehicles, who handcuffed him and took him away. The armed men, the employees said, were not wearing uniforms or badges indicating that they were with a government agency. On social media, word spread that the unidentified men were from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“We are horrified that something this vile happened outside Sip,” read a post on the shop’s Instagram account. “We urge all of our friends to be careful — this ambush happened out in the street just a little while ago.”
It was one of multiple incidents that fueled alarm and uncertainty among immigrant communities and advocate networks throughout the day as reported ICE sightings came from East and South Nashville. Rapid response operations like Music City MigraWatch posted photos on social media of what they believed to be ICE vehicles and the empty work vans left behind by the people they’d taken. One post showed a white van pulled over by unmarked vehicles with red and blue flashing lights on Bell Road…