Was Philly-based roundup of immigrants routine? Or a sign of Trump times?

Federal immigration police described the sweep as routine: 248 alleged "criminal aliens" arrested since the start of this month — an average of 21 a day — in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and West Virginia.  Hauled off to jail, they face deportation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"ICE officers make extraordinary efforts to keep our communities safe, and this operation is just a small example of what they do every day," Jennifer Ritchey, acting director of ICE-Philadelphia, the local field office, said in a statement Monday.

However, a web search of ICE news releases suggests that the action may be more than a small, everyday example. It appears the previous largest "targeted enforcement operation" by Philadelphia-based agents netted 99 suspects over 12 days in 2008.

Of the 248 apprehended this month, ICE said, 197 were in Pennsylvania, 42 in West Virginia, eight in Delaware, and one in New Jersey. While ICE officials maintain the number of those nabbed was unremarkable, some advocates for immigrants see the agency ramping up in response to President Trump's call for a crackdown on illegal immigration, as well as new guidelines for ICE operations issued last month by the Department of Homeland Security.

Among those arrested, 88 had convictions on unspecified criminal charges; 32 had pending criminal charges; an additional 50 were previously deported and reentered illegally; and 18 are fugitives with outstanding final orders of removal issued by an immigration judge, according to ICE.

Left unanswered in Monday's announcement of the arrests were questions about who was arrested, on what charges, and their ages and countries of origin. On Wednesday morning, ICE officials said only that most of the detainees were taken to the York and Pike County Prisons. Some were transferred to correctional centers in Youngstown, Ohio, and San Antonio, Texas. Others were released on bail or their own recognizance. Obtaining further details would require the submission of a Freedom of Information Act request, ICE said.

In its Monday news release, ICE also stressed the importance of rumor control, with a slap at some immigrant-advocacy organizations: "Reports of ICE checkpoints and sweeps are false, dangerous and irresponsible. Any groups falsely reporting such activities are doing a disservice to those they claim to support."

For example, she said, she heard of three cases in the last week in which immigrants were grabbed by ICE agents just outside the Criminal Justice Center in Center City. The immigrants had appeared for court on relatively minor charges. Their cases were heard, and they were allowed to leave. When they stepped outside the building, Almiron said, they were arrested by ICE.

"That hasn't happened in a long time," she said. Agents "are looking for new ways to get people."

House raids seem to be happening less often, she said — in part because wary immigrants, having received know-your-rights training from Juntos' community leaders, are refusing to open their doors.

That means arrests are happening elsewhere, including a bodega near Seventh and Reed Streets in South Philadelphia, where a Salvadoran man was taken into custody last week, said Almiron.

According to witnesses, ICE arrested Alejandro Ramos at El Primo Food Market, where he worked. In a brief interview on Wednesday, his son, Manuel Diaz Ramos, 24, who along with his sister has been running the market, said only their father was taken to York Prison.

Peter Pedemonti, director of the New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia, an interfaith, immigrant advocacy group, said his organization recently established a hotline for tips about where arrests are happening.

Of about 25 calls to the hotline in the last month, he said, his office confirmed eight arrests.

"We've heard about people being followed and arrested when they leave their homes," he said. "But from what we've seen, ICE is looking for specific individuals, not doing dragnet-type sweeps."