(Updated, 11 a.m., Monday, Nov. 17) Veterans Day 2025 will be remembered by most for its respectful recognition for those who've the nation, but for some in town Tuesday, Nov. 11, will be marked by the memory of an operation conducted by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency Water Street that ended with an arrest mid-afternoon.

ICE later released information to local media about the incident, which culminated at about 2:15 p.m. with the arrest of 36-year-old Alvin Green, a Liberian nation. Green is alleged to have committed numerous crimes during his time here, including felony assault with a dangerous weapon, possessing/transporting drugs, forgery, second-degree assault, disorderly conduct and shoplifting.

Green was said to have entered the country legally back in 2004, but had violated terms of his status. A judge had ordered him to be deported back in 2009. Green was an employee at a business located on Water Street.

Tuesday's action occurred following a day-long wait by ICE agents in the area and came among the derisive words directed their way by protesters from both Warren and nearby municipalities.

The mere presence of ICE agents earlier Tuesday throughout the Water Street neighborhood spurred a swift, spontaneous and soaring response from residents and area activists opposed to the raids being done locally and nationally.

"Say it loud. Say it clear. ICE is not welcome here," was the mantra of the dozen or so protesters who gathered at the foot of Washington Street as well as another similarly-sized group farther south on Water at the corner of Wheaton.

Protesters claimed as many as seven individual immigration officers were in the neighborhood. What were believed to be two ICE agents in vehicles — one a white SUV and the other a black sports car/sedan — were for certain parked for several hours at Washington and Water. Another alleged ICE agent was located in a car on the north end of Water at Miller Streets.

So, too, were Warren Police cruisers, which protesters said only came upon the scene after there were reports of rambunctiousness in their ranks.

"I think people driving by are saying we're obstructing traffic, which we're not," said one of the protesters, a Warren resident who wished not to be identified, of town law enforcement. "Somebody told the police somebody was climbing on cars, which they're not. People are reporting things that aren't happening to the police."

"We have to stay on the sidewalks, which we are," added another local. "We're just here supporting our community."

Spoken with the following day, Warren Police Chief Roy Borges said his department was not notified of the ICE actions beforehand, nor did it know the target or where the suspect was taken. WPD officers, he said, were at the scene after being called to handle potential issues with crowd control.

Also on scene was a representative from the activist group, Rhode Island Deportation Defense Line. The organization was contacted early Tuesday morning with reports locals of a potential immigration sweep and began to notify members about the situation.

"The Deportation Defense Line runs a hotline and if you see what you think could be an ICE vehicle, you can go ahead and call them. They have resources to go ahead and verify and to mobilize and come out on site and verify that, yes, it's ICE. No, it's not ICE," said a representative of the Defense Line group, who went by the name "Bill," but also asked to not be identified fearing retribution.

He continued, "These here are ICE. So we've got a Jeep, and we've got a Dodge Charger around here, and there's a Hyundai right up here on that corner. They've been here since about 8 this morning, and we got a call in from a local citizen. And so I happened to be in the area and was notified."

Of the reaction by residents, he added, "This kind of happened organically. They just started kind of gathering people and gathering their neighbors and calling them out. And letting ICE know that they know they are here, they are seen and they cannot do anything without being watched."

Immigration officers were also alleged to have been seen in the same area on two other occasions in recent weeks. The locals hypothesized the site was in the bullseye of ICE because of the boat and food operations there as well as Water Street being the location of several restaurants and other hospitality businesses. "Bill" agreed with that opinion, saying it was rather obvious.

"I can't speak to what they are here for. Only they know what they are here for," Bill said. "But we do know what they're looking for and that's the demographic of workers in local food service, that service-oriented industries.

"I think the people out here are seeing that and saying, 'No, we're gonna protect those people. You can't just slip in here and do things unnoticed. So, that's kind of the whole purpose of this to be on the scene. It's pretty amazing to see, because I'm just getting out of here to kind of verify stuff and make sure the people know. And before I knew it, they got 30 people out here yelling at the ICE cars. That's great."

As of midday no enforcement actions had been seen or reported, but that changed abruptly when agents took an employee of the Blount food business into custody just after 2 p.m.

According to an eyewitness, the male party was pulled over near Miller Street, taken from his vehicle, placed in the ICE car and speeded away, all with the alleged suspect's car still running.

Said the same witness, "It's the first time I've seen something like this. I see why it's called an 'abduction.' They showed no ID,  no reading of rights or showing a warrant. Just ripped him out and left."

A local offshoot of Rhode Island Deportation Defense Network held what could be termed a strategic meeting the following evening in town, claiming approximately 50-75 people attended.

According to notes provided to The Times-Gazette, the gathering recapped the events of the previous day and laid out a set of guidelines of how the group should proceed going forward.

Among the actions recommended was contacting town elected and administrative officials about the matter, perform pro-active community outreach and have residents assist immigrants in the legal process where possible.