ICE Raid In West Orange Is 'Disturbing,' New Jersey Lawmaker Says

WEST ORANGE, NJ — A New Jersey state lawmaker says he is “disturbed” by reports of a recent federal immigration raid in West Orange.

A West Orange native posted on social media that there was an ICE raid on the morning of Dec. 9 near Virginia Avenue. The post claimed that the man was taken from a car and put into an ICE vehicle, TAPinto West Orange reported.

No additional information about the alleged ICE activity in West Orange last week was immediately available.

On Monday, New Jersey Sen. John McKeon (NJ-27) said he is “disturbed” by the recent reports of ICE activity in West Orange, and “saddened by the fear and trauma it has caused for those in the neighborhood.”

The 27th district includes the towns of West Orange, Livingston, Millburn, Montclair and Roseland in Essex County, and Clifton in Passaic County.

“New Jersey is home to a vibrant immigrant community made up of individuals who work to contribute to the betterment of society every day,” McKeon said. “They should not have to live in fear that they might go to work or school and not see their families again.”

“The Trump Administration’s immigration agents have continuously overstepped their authority and trampled on people’s right to due process,” McKeon added. “We cannot allow ICE to destabilize entire communities and intimidate their populations, especially when the vast majority of people detained by ICE have no criminal record at all.”

• See Related: Population Surges At ICE Prison In NJ, Many Don’t Have Criminal Records

President Donald Trump has insisted that a nationwide crackdown is needed to push back against a “large-scale invasion” of illegal immigration.

As part of his campaign platform in 2024, Trump vowed to immediately launch a nationwide immigration crackdown as soon as he was elected. His administration didn’t waste any time making its first moves. On his first day in office, the White House announced a sweeping wave of presidential actions and executive orders – including several involving immigration.

“Our southern border is overrun by cartels, criminal gangs, known terrorists, human traffickers, smugglers, unvetted military-age males from foreign adversaries, and illicit narcotics that harm Americans,” Trump declared.

ICE ARRESTS IN ESSEX COUNTY

Details have been sparse in the wake of other recent ICE arrests in Essex County.

In October, federal immigration authorities arrested someone near the Millburn Train Station, the town’s mayor said. “What makes this even more frustrating is that our local police department, and our residents, are not notified when ICE comes into town,” she added.

Many of the recent immigration raids in New Jersey have involved workplaces.

An ICE raid at a wholesale seafood distributor in Newark ended with 13 arrests in November. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark said it worked in coordination with federal partners to carry out a court-authorized search warrant as part of an active criminal investigation involving labor operations. ICE arrested a total of 13 “illegal aliens" who are employed at the business, authorities said.

In July, several people were taken into custody during an immigration enforcement operation at a wine and spirits warehouse in Edison. Later that month, 15 people were detained by ICE on their way to work at a local landscaping company in Princeton. And in October, federal authorities took 46 people into custody during an inspection at a container freight station in Woodbridge.

Advocates and family members of ICE detainees have pushed back against the claim that most of the immigrants imprisoned at facilities like Delaney Hall are “criminals.”

According to data from the Department of Homeland Security, about 90 percent of the 807 people detained at Delaney Hall in Newark do not have criminal records, NJ Spotlight News reported.

ICE also houses federal detainees at another private prison in New Jersey: the Elizabeth Detention Facility in Union County. About 80 percent of them do not have criminal records.

• See Related: Dozens Of NJ Teachers Back Immigrant Trust Act: ‘Things Are Not Normal’

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