Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents entered Princeton on Wednesday morning to arrest undocumented residents and circled town for several hours in unmarked vehicles. Members of local government and nonprofit representatives allege that multiple individuals were detained, though ICE stated that only one arrest was made.
Community members quickly organized to monitor the ICE agents’ activities and issue public warnings, which advised undocumented residents to stay indoors.
Ana Paola Pazmiño, director of Resistencia en Acción NJ, a local immigrant rights nonprofit formerly known as Unidad Latina en Acción, said that around 7:30 a.m., community members called their organization saying that multiple agents with police vests accompanied by at least four unmarked cars were asking workers on Witherspoon Street for identification.
“We know that about eight workers were arrested … three [were] arrested at the corner of the library as they were walking to [the corner of Green Street and Witherspoon Street] where they wait for work every day,” Pazmiño told The Daily Princetonian.
At the time of publication, the ‘Prince’ was unable to reach individuals who witnessed the arrests firsthand. Pazmiño told the ‘Prince’ that her organization has yet to identify the community members, saying that they suspect the undocumented community members involved are likely “not with family members here.”
In a statement to Planet Princeton, ICE confirmed their presence in Princeton and specified that the agency’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) division targeted three noncitizens for arrest.
“One was taken into custody by ERO officers. The other arrest was blocked by public interference with officers in pursuit of the individual,” according to Emilio Dabul, a spokesperson for the ICE Newark Field Office.
ICE’s Newark Field Office did not respond to repeated requests for comment from the ‘Prince.’
Resistencia en Acción NJ began to publicize ICE’s presence following reports that agents were in town. By 11:00 a.m., their Instagram account began to post recorded exchanges between community members and the ICE agents, as well as calls for residents to protests ICE‘s presence in the city.
“We started to gather a response team, we called all of our allies around town,” Pazmiño explained.
In one video, a community member repeatedly asks two men in bulletproof police vests without badges for identification. The individuals questioned did not respond or present identification.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has previously termed the use of police vests as “impersonation,” arguing that it falsely insinuates that ICE agents belong to local law enforcement.
Community members attempted to persuade members of the Princeton Police Department (PPD) to intervene and Pazmiño alleged that ICE sought the aid of local police.
“They stationed themselves at the Princeton police station,” Pazmiño told the ‘Prince.’ “I went inside to speak to the chief of police, and the chief of police did not come out. He sent a sergeant, James Martinez, to tell me that there was nothing that they could do, that they didn’t know what they were here for.”
Local law enforcement in New Jersey have been barred from collaborating with ICE since 2018, when then-Attorney General Gurbir Grewal’s “Immigrant Trust Directive” was issued, making New Jersey a “sanctuary state.”
Princeton Mayor Mark Freda later clarified to the ‘Prince’ that the PPD was not directly involved with the arrest and that the local government had “no idea [ICE] was going to be in Princeton today.”
Freda said the town government is still trying to get in contact with ICE, but the agency has yet to respond to them.
“We’re not happy,” Freda said. “We just have to assume there’s not that many people that would be high on a list of criminals hiding out here. Probably mostly people just working and trying to take care of their families.”
In a statement provided to the ‘Prince’ later Wednesday afternoon, Freda and the town council condemned ICE’s activities on Wednesday, saying that they “starkly contradict our core values of respect and dignity for all,” and “left our community deeply troubled.”
Princeton’s town government has also contacted Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) for assistance at the federal level, according to the statement.
Watson Coleman made a public statement Wednesday afternoon, writing that she was “horrified to learn of the ICE raids carried out in Princeton today, by agents who did not identify themselves.”
“This kind of conduct has absolutely no place in our community or our country. I am working to get more information from federal agencies involved in order to fully understand what occurred,” she added. Her office also promised to share resources in the coming days.
Without the full picture of ICE’s activities Wednesday, some community members expressed fear that ICE will soon be back.
“We’re getting a lot of calls from members in the community who say, ‘Can we walk to our jobs?’ ‘Can we pick up our children from the camp?’” Pazmiño said. “They’re not going to be able to do their normal activities the next couple of days because we're not sure if they’ll return.”
This incident is the first widely reported incident of ICE arrests in Princeton in the past several years. ICE previously arrested two Princeton residents in 2016, prompting the town to post several documents online about undocumented individuals’ rights. ICE also arrested three people in downtown Princeton in 2017.
Resistencia en Acción NJ, in collaboration with representatives from the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), will be holding a public meeting on Thursday, July 11 at 7:00 p.m. at 124 Witherspoon Street to help community members better understand their rights.
This story is still developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Christopher Bao is an assistant News editor and the accessibility director for the ‘Prince.’ He is from Princeton, N.J. and typically covers town politics and life.
Charlie Roth is a senior News writer and education director for the ‘Prince.’
Miriam Waldvogel is an associate News editor and the investigations editor for the ‘Prince.’ She is from Stockton, Calif. and often covers campus activism and University accountability.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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