WILDWOOD – It was to be a big day Thursday, Jan. 30, for Cape May County Sheriff Bob Nolan, who was being sworn in as the president of the New Jersey Sheriff’s Association. The large law enforcement presence in the city was there to celebrate the sheriff’s new leadership role in the state organization.

Among those law enforcement well-wishers were members of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That was enough to panic members of the city’s large Hispanic community.

As word of an ICE presence spread through social media, some parents showed up to remove their children from school. Business owners found themselves without critical staff; some closed. At one restaurant the owner said he lost most of his kitchen help.

According to the Census Bureau’s latest numbers, Wildwood has a population of just over 5,000, with one-third of them self-identified as Hispanic.

Fear in the community reached the point where the city Police Department issued a statement clarifying the ICE presence and explaining that no immigration raids or arrests were going on.

Nolan has been a strong supporter of ICE and fought the state attorney general in court to allow his officers to hold immigration detainees for eventual deportation. Nolan lost.

The sheriff explained to The Press of Atlantic City that he had invited ICE personnel to the Sheriff’s Association event in the hope that ICE instructors could brief the assembled officers on the newly signed Laken Riley Act, a bill that expands who can be arrested, detained and deported by federal immigration officers. The training did not occur.

The fear and reactions by the Hispanic community on Thursday set off social media commentary that put on display the divide in the community. Residents who empathized with the immigrants found themselves opposed by those who want to “lock them up.”

Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.