LAKE COUNTY >> Wednesday afternoon, LC Scanner released an alert that an immigration task force raid was taking place in Lake County. The message indicated that over 10 people were already taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in Kelseyville and surrounding areas.
Notices of ICE activity quickly spread. But local officials responded that none of it was true.
Still, within the first hour of publication, the post had reached over one hundred shares and had numerous likes and comments. People were quick to share their opinions and added what they had heard about the alleged task force, only multiplying the number of shares and conversations about the alert.
One user added that she heard immigration had “supposedly” arrived “here,” a place not specified, because of Willow Point residents. The Lakeport mobile park residents, many of them farm workers of Latino descent, protested Monday in an effort to bring attention to their housing situation that has kept them migrating from churches to hotels for months, post recent flooding. Connections were made among users in the conversation thread that Willow Point residents’ protest could have triggered ICE raids.
Three updates were posted afterward. The first involved a child that was allegedly pulled out of an unidentified school. LC Scanner responded to users that the child was told his father was being deported and the child’s own immigration status was under investigation. He was then sent back to class.
Hours later, LC Scanner said the school sent out a notice on the child, stating the incident did not happen on campus. The two updates that followed further explained what people had heard and seen ICE agents do in areas like Kelseyville, Upper Lake, and Clearlake. For example, ICE agents were said to be seen detaining a man after opening his home’s front door.
One LC Scanner admin user, who wished not be named, said all of their information was coming from locals that messaged LC Scanner with eyewitness information.
A message, received in Spanish, said, “They just confirmed to me that, yes, ICE is in Kelseyville and Clearlake.”
In fact, all of the information circulating the post was “he said, she said.”
Over 125 comments and 422 shares and several parent calls later, Kelseyville Unified School District released an announcement in response to the alert. It read, “There was a rumor circulating on Facebook that ICE agents were on Kelseyville campuses on May 24th. That is not true. If an ICE agent does come to one of our campuses, they have no access to student records or students. Our Board Policy AR 5125 has particular guidelines for release of student records. We keep student records confidential. Please make sure your emergency contact information is up to date on the campus your child attends and who may pick up your child. If you have any questions, please contact the site administrator of the school where your child attends. We will work together in keeping students safe.”
Kelseyville Unified School District Director of Student Support Tim Grill said it was “unfortunate” that LC Scanner reported false activity.
“The world we live in now is social media and when we see something of concern we will react immediately,” he added. Kelseyville High School followed with a similar announcement after several students brought the rumors to administration’s attention.
According to a fact sheet available by the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has explained that immigration enforcement actions may not occur at or in “sensitive locations.” Those locations include schools, school bus stops, places of worship, during public demonstrations, and health care facilities.
The factsheet also explains that ICE may conduct an enforcement action at a sensitive location only with prior approval from a DHS official, or “if national security, terrorism, or public safety, or where there is imminent risk of destruction of evidence material to an ongoing criminal case” is involved.
Lt. Steve Brooks from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) reported on Wednesday that dispatchers had not received any information on immigration task forces taking place. ICE agents would have to check in prior to conducting enforcement acts, which LCSO had not received, according to Brooks.
In response to questions from the public, LCSO announced a series of talking points regarding ICE and DHS activity in the County. Listed were rumors of ICE Agents conducting operations on school grounds that have not been substantiated, and that LCSO does not detain people based on their immigration status. No information was provided on whether or not anyone was taken into custody, or how many people.
Other organizations in the County, such as California Human Development, noticed the effect of how quickly information can spread via social media. Because CA Human Development aids a large population of the County’s farm workers with different immigration statuses, one representative noticed business was unusually slow on Wednesday when no migrant worker came in. She believes it was due to the fact many received the notice of the supposed ICE activity and feared to be outdoors.
Fear is perhaps one of the most vital consequences resulting from misinformation that can occur on social media. According to a study titled Analysing How People Orient to and Spread Rumours in Social Media by Looking at Conversational Threads, “Social media rumors that are later proven false can have harmful consequences both for individuals and for society. For instance, a rumor in 2013 about the White House having been bombed, injuring Barack Obama, which was tweeted from AP’s Twitter account by hackers, spooked stock markets in the US.”
After users asked LC Scanner for direct sources and after Kelseyville Unified School District released their announcement confirming no ICE enforcement activity had taken place as claimed, the initial scare was debunked.
And as the conversation thread’s feisty momentum came to an end, user Rene Romo said, “I commend you, individual behind LC Scanner Updates. Thank you for trying to keep us informed. Although the result of this post was not greatly positive, I have found all your other posts informative and helpful.”
