Federal immigration agents arrested 13 people Friday outside the West Kittanning PennDOT Driver License Center, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The agency said those taken into custody included nationals of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan. One person allegedly resisted arrest and assaulted a local officer, and officials say that part of the incident is under investigation.
ICE called in after neighbors report crowd
A DHS spokesperson told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 that ICE officers were dispatched after East Franklin police got calls about an "abnormally large amount of individuals" gathered outside the license center, according to WTAE. In its statement, the department said officers arrested 13 illegal aliens from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan. Officials said the arrests are tied to an active investigation.
PennDOT says paperwork rush explains big turnout
PennDOT told Channel 11 that the West Kittanning center was handling medical-form updates for current holders of non-domiciled commercial learner's permits and licenses, which led to an unusually heavy customer load that day, as reported by WPXI. The agency said it relies on the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, database to verify legal presence in real time. PennDOT also noted that, following guidance from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, no non-domiciled commercial licenses were issued or reissued at the center that day.
Part of a wider enforcement wave
ICE activity in the Pittsburgh area has climbed sharply compared with last year, with local reporting showing immigration-related arrests rose substantially through mid‑October, according to the Pennsylvania Capital‑Star, which republished analysis by Pittsburgh's PublicSource. That jump in enforcement has prompted community groups to closely track and document federal operations across the region. Friday’s action in Kittanning is the latest example of that broader pattern of stepped-up interior enforcement.
Neighbors, police and next steps
The DHS statement said residents who called police later thanked ICE for responding to their concerns, a detail included in reporting by WTAE. According to the agency, East Franklin Township police referred the calls that triggered the federal response. Authorities have not released the names of the 13 people arrested and say the investigation is still ongoing.
What officials are saying now
Officials say the incident remains under investigation and are not offering further details for now, according to reporting by WPXI. This story will be updated if authorities release additional information.
