Federal Agents Conduct Immigration Raid In Trenton

MERCER COUNTY, NJ – Federal agents conducted a raid in Trenton on Thursday morning.

Several agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement descended on the Chambersburg neighborhood and 36 Bayard Street on Thursday morning, according to videos posted on Facebook by an advocacy group.

Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) was also seen in the neighborhood speaking to residents and activists. She said ICE agents did not have a warrant, “didn’t identify themselves or give their badge numbers.”

Due to the “swift action” of residents, clergy, and local community leaders, the federal agents were forced to leave the neighborhood, Watson Coleman said.

In a video from 36 Bayard Street, residents and activists were seen confronting ICE agents. According to local activists, one immigrant was detained by ICE while two other managed to escape.

Advocacy group Resistencia en Accion NJ said their Rapid Response team was notified between 7 and 8 a.m. about ICE activity on Bayard Street.

Three day laborers who were traveling for work in a van were stopped by ICE. "One was detained, another managed to escape, and the third one was able to get into a house," a spokesperson for Resistencia en Accion said.

"While our responders livestreamed on Facebook, asking agents for their warrants and telling people about their rights, Trenton PD arrived at the scene, blocking the street with tape and arresting one of our organizers in the process, who is now released with a summons," the group said.

The group said that ICE gave up on their attempt to detain the person in the house around 11:30 a.m. after community members gathered outside demanding they leave.

In a statement on the platform X, Watson Coleman criticized President Donald Trump for ramping up immigration enforcement in local neighborhoods.

“Residents are rightfully fearful of so-called law enforcement that refuses to follow the law. The Trump Administration's ICE-capades are attempts at intimidation and are being exposed as deeply corrupt with top level officials allegedly profiting off of mass deportations of our neighbors. This is not about protecting communities. It is about intimidation and fear,” Watson Coleman said.

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