Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents conducted an operation in Princeton early Wednesday morning that left many in the community shaken and worried for its large immigrant population.
Angela Ramos works in Princeton and said she watched ICE agents stop day workers standing on various corners of the township.
“We saw that [an agent] stopped right in front of us, on the other side of the street, and took a picture of us,” said Ramos, who is also a community organizer with Resistencia en Acción NJ. “This was so terrifying and also, we took it as such a disrespect. He was like honking to tell us that he is the authority, and he’ll be back.”
Princeton Mayor Mark Freda and others took issue with how the operation was conducted, saying ICE’s failure to communicate with local or state government made interactions potentially dangerous for the community and for law enforcement.
“They should have identification, large letters, that clearly identify who they are,” said Freda. “They’re not all dressed the same. They don’t all have the same vest. They’re in different types of unmarked vehicles.
“So you’re in the middle of your own community, and all of a sudden an unmarked vehicle pulls up and some guy jumps out with a bullet proof vest and a gun, he said. “How you’re going to react to that, or how are police going to react to that if we don’t know that those are ICE officers? The potential for a problem is pretty real.”
ICE issued a statement, saying they had “…targeted three non-citizens for arrest… One was taken into custody.”
The agency had its own complaints as well, saying “the other arrest was blocked by public interference with officers in pursuit of the individual… Obstructing or otherwise interfering with an ICE arrest is a crime… and places all parties in jeopardy.”
The confrontation drew the attention of U.S. Rep Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-12th), who said she’s demanded further explanation from ICE.
“We need to understand their protocol; we need to understand what responsibility they have to let somebody know that they’re coming to town,” said Watson Coleman. “And we have to have an understanding that you just don’t ask people in the United State of America to show you their identification. I don’t carry my identification on me all the time. That’s not American.”
