ICE arrests multiple people in New Brunswick

By Alvin Wu
Domestic Affairs
ICE arrests multiple people in New Brunswick

Still image taken from eyewitness video of an ICE arrest on Handy Street in New Brunswick on Jan. 31. FACEBOOK/cueto.jimenez.3

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., Feb. 13 (ZFJ) — Multiple people were arrested in New Brunswick, N.J., within the past few weeks by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.

In a press conference on Jan. 30, New Labor, an immigrant advocate organization, reported that they received about eight calls via the rapid response hotline as well as Facebook about ICE activity in the city. When rapid responders arrived, federal officers had already left.

Video posted to Facebook and surveillance footage published by New Brunswick Today show federal officers pinning men on the ground and arresting them on Handy Street on Saturday, Jan. 31.

Surveillance footage of ICE officers arresting a man on Handy Street in New Brunswick on Jan. 31. NEW BRUNSWICK TODAY/Surveillance Footage 　

Amanda Dominguez, a New Labor organizer and ESL coordinator, discussed several incidents during public comment at the New Brunswick City Council’s Feb. 4 meeting.

Dominguez said six people were arrested in the city on Jan. 31. She held up a still image from a video of an arrest at a Walgreens on French Street over the weekend. She also said that a person had been stopped by ICE outside of Aldi, was ordered to show papers, and that ICE took the person’s documents without returning them.

She added that a person had been arrested by federal officers at the Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple near two elementary schools—A.C. Redshaw and Livingston—the day of the council meeting.

Dominguez said that she observed heightened fear of federal enforcement in the city, noting that multiple French Street restaurants now keep their doors locked to protect their customers. She said that, on Jan. 29, city employees afraid of ICE at the courthouse called the rapid response line to ask for escorts to their cars.

ICE provided the ZFJ with a statement via email from U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin on the Jan. 31 arrests saying that “ICE conducted a targeted immigration enforcement operation in New Brunswick, New Jersey, to arrest four illegal aliens from Honduras, Ecuador, and Mexico” and that “some had criminal history including larceny and felony illegal re-entry.”

McLaughlin said that the four people she mentioned would be held in ICE custody pending deportation.

“Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, if you break the law, you will face the consequences,” she said. “Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.”

ICE did not immediately respond to Dominguez’s statement that officers had arrested a person near a temple on Feb. 4.

New Brunswick Mayor Jim Cahill released a statement on Feb. 4 that said that New Brunswick police will neither “assist with, nor deter, the lawful detention of individuals sought by ICE.”

Cahill also said that New Brunswick police will verify the identities of people claiming to be ICE officers as well as “document all known ICE activity, both announced and unannounced, within the City.” Furthermore, the city will establish protocols for city employees to follow when interacting with federal immigration officers.

The ZFJ has contacted Rutgers University for comment on the recent immigration arrests off campus.

New Labor encourages people to call the DIRE hotline at (888) 347-3767 for a quicker rapid response compared to posting on Facebook and that information such as vehicles and uniforms sighted as well as photos and videos taken from a safe distance away are a significant help for them.

EDITOR’S NOTE: To support ZFJ coverage of federal immigration enforcement operations in New Jersey or Maryland, send any relevant materials—such as photos, videos, and social media posts—to editor-in-chief Alvin Wu via email, social media DM, or phone call/text message.

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