Immigrant officials raided a business in Newark, detaining a U.S. military veteran and several undocumented residents without producing a warrant, according to city officials.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka released a statement describing the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday and condemning the agency for the raid.
“This egregious act is in clear violation of the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” said Baraka, a Democrat who is running for governor this year. “Newark will not stand idly by while people are illegally terrorized.”
One of the detainees is a veteran who suffered “the indignity of having the legitimacy of his military documentation called into question,” Baraka said.
A spokesperson for the state attorney general’s office declined to comment.
Immigrants and activists have been on board since President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders cracking down on immigration during his first hours in office Monday. Trump’s border czar said ice stopped 308 migrants across America on Tuesday and made 766 apprehensions at the southern border, according to the New YorkPost.
Baraka did not name the raid activity in his statement or say how many people were detained by the ice.
In a call Thursday with Rep. Lamonica McIver (D-10), state officials and immigrant advocates, New Jersey Deputy Highway Director Nedia Morsy said that “the policies of the “Trump administration are xenophobic and racist.”
“This is the work of the Trump administration, an attempt to undo all the progress we have made, and it will not succeed,” Morsy said.
Trump said Wednesday he was Sending 1,500 military troops to the southern border As part of its crackdown on illegal immigration.
“President Trump is sending a very strong message to the people of the world – if you think about breaking the laws of the United States of America, you will have gone home. You will be arrested. You will be prosecuted,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
The New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice said on social networks That it is crucial that all New Jerseyans are safe in their communities. The group said it’s time to more quickly distribute materials that inform residents of their rights “in preparation for more raids like these.”
Immigrant advocates have pushed lawmakers to pass the Immigrant Trust Actwhich prohibits law enforcement and local authorities from cooperating with federal immigration authorities when voluntary, limits the circumstances in which public agencies can ask questions about immigration status, and guarantees people Regardless of immigration status can access public services in schools, libraries and health facilities. The bill has not moved since it was introduced last year.
Amol Sinha, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, said organizations are tracking what’s happening between communities.
It is unknown if any other ice raids were carried out in New Jersey, although several have been reported across the country, especially in New York, BostonSan Francisco, Minnesota, Florida and Maryland.
New Jersey is home to more than 400,000 undocumented immigrants.
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