PRINCETON, NJ — Local activists and faith groups launched a campaign on Tuesday in response to the recent ICE raids held in the Municipality.
On Jan. 10 members of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted an early morning raid in Princeton.
ICE officials confirmed they conducted “targeted enforcement” seeking two people and took one into custody. They also noted that officers were prevented from apprehending the second person by “outside parties.”
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At a press conference held outside the Princeton Public Library on Tuesday, immigrant justice leaders discussed the responses to the raid and demanded a full investigation into ICE operations.
They also called for greater transparency and accountability from ICE and discussed steps the Princeton municipal government should take to protect community members and rebuild trust.
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Hosted by Faith in New Jersey, Resistencia en Acción NJ, Princeton Mutual Aid, Solidaridad, National Day Laborer Organizing Network, and the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, the campaign ‘ICE Out Of Princeton’ aimed at getting the community together in solidarity.
During the press conference, a faith leader said they witnessed ICE agents harassing people on bicycles who were “brown-skinned.”
“Just because of their complexion they decided it was okay for them to harass people,” the religious leader said. He recalled following ICE agents around that day and seeing residents dodge out of the way because “the agents were driving recklessly.”
Princeton Mayor Mark Freda, along with councilmembers Leticia Fraga and Leighton Newlin attended the gathering and spoke to attendees.
“I want to make sure the message from us to everyone is clear — we are a welcoming town, we welcome everyone to our community,” Freda said.
He went on to emphasize that the Princeton Police Department did not assist ICE in any way during the raid.
Freda said Princeton Police has not assisted ICE since 2013, much before NJ decided local police departments would not assist the federal agency.
“You can trust our police department, you can trust our human services department, you can trust our health department — we provide services to the entire community, whether undocumented or documented it does not matter,” Freda said.
The Mayor also said he spoke with the director for ICE in Newark and told them that the agency has very little reason to come to Princeton again. Princeton’s elected officials joined the call and expressed their concerns about ICE’s tactics and how they present themselves.
Going forward, Freda said that officers from Princeton’s Police Department will keep a close watch on ICE agents to monitor what they are doing if they happen to come to Princeton.
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