U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) organized raids in Princeton on Wednesday, July 10.
In the early morning hours, ICE officials entered the Princeton community, calling upon Hispanic and Latino residents to demonstrate identification documentation. The officials circled Witherspoon Street, and they detained multiple residents by the nearby library.
NJ residents are shocked and dismayed by the ‘surprise’ raids, in which the officials did not follow through standard procedures and identify themselves as members of the federal agency.
Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) shared her “horrified” reaction, noting that ICE officials haphazardly questioned the residents about their legal status in the United States. Coleman emphatically declared the United States is “a nation of immigrants. Any actions of intimidation are unacceptable and despicable, and we will get to the bottom of it.”
Responding to criticism, ICE officials claimed to conduct “targeted enforcement” in the hopes of finding two undocumented individuals. One was placed into custody.
Resistencia en Acción NJ, an immigrant- rights nonprofit organization, has been working with local immigrants who feel unsafe conducting their daily activities and errands.
Princeton Mayor Mark Freda was also saddened to learn that ICE officials entered the area without warning or notice. Local police officers were not involved in or notified about the ICE raids.
