The nation’s top immigration enforcement agency reportedly detained a military veteran in New Jersey as it conducted sweeping raids under President Donald Trump‘s mass deportation operation.
Newsweek has contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement for comment via email outside normal office hours.
Why It Matters
Mass deportations were a key component of Trump’s 2024 campaign. Since the president returned to office on Monday, hundreds of undocumented immigrants have been arrested under his administration’s crackdown, and critics say the immigration raids are “sowing chaos” in vulnerable communities.
What To Know
Ras J. Baraka, the Democratic mayor of Newark, New Jersey, said on Thursday that ICE raided a local business and detained “undocumented residents as well as citizens, without producing a warrant.”
He added that a U.S. military veteran was among the people detained and that he “suffered the indignity of having the legitimacy of his military documentation questioned.”
In an “Enforcement Update” posted on X, formerly Twitter, ICE said it made 538 arrests on Thursday.
ABC News reported that the enforcement operations carried out following Trump’s second inauguration were typical of the routine immigration raids the agency had conducted for years.
According to WABC, ICE also made arrests in New York on Wednesday, which included the apprehension of an alleged MS-13 member.
In Massachusetts, WCVB reported that ICE conducted arrests in Chelsea and East Boston on Wednesday.
The Trump administration has declared that agents will be permitted to enter “sensitive locations,” including schools, hospitals and places of worship.
Experts previously told Newsweek that ICE would become more empowered and emboldened under Trump’s second administration.
What People Are Saying
Representative LaMonica McIver, a Democrat from New Jersey, said: “Without a warrant, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted a raid on a Newark business today. My office has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security to get answers on exactly what happened, and how it was allowed that ICE came in—without warrant and without justification—to detain not only immigrants, but citizens and even a veteran of our nation’s military.
“Already, Trump’s attacks on immigrant communities are hitting home and we will not back down. I am in contact with Mayor Baraka, and other local and federal officials as more unfolds. We will always fight for the dignity and rights of everyone in our district and across the country.”
Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka said in a statement: “Today, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided a local establishment in the City of Newark, detaining undocumented residents as well as citizens, without producing a warrant. One of the detainees is a U.S. military veteran who suffered the indignity of having the legitimacy of his military documentation questioned. This egregious act is in plain violation of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees ‘the right of the people be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures….’
“Newark will not stand by idly while people are being unlawfully terrorized. I will be holding a press conference in alliance with partners ready and willing to defend and protect civil and human rights. Details to come.”
Amaha Kassa, the executive director of African Communities Together, told Newsweek: “These anti-immigrant raids will accomplish very little. They won’t make Americans any safer, or get us better housing or provide better jobs. The only thing they will do is strike fear into the hearts of immigrants who took their lives into their own hands and came looking for a little bit of safety and opportunity. Which, unfortunately, is exactly what they are designed to do.
“But Trump and his allies in Congress are, once again, underestimating the strength of immigrant communities. We’ve faced countless challenges—resisting oppressive regimes, escaping from violence, and making long journeys across oceans and continents in order to survive. No matter the obstacles, we will continue to endure and thrive.”
Becca Heller, a co-founder of the International Refugee Assistance Project, told Newsweek: “These raids are not about immigration enforcement. The raids are a way to scapegoat immigrants in order to stoke fear, create chaos and consolidate power. They are a way to try to use words like ‘invasion’ to justify an unprecedented deployment of the U.S. military on our own soil against our own communities.”
An ICE spokesperson previously told Newsweek: “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement may encounter U.S. citizens while conducting field work and may request identification to establish an individual’s identity as was the case during a targeted enforcement operation at a worksite today in Newark, New Jersey. This is an active investigation and, per ICE policy, we cannot discuss ongoing investigations.”
What Happens Next
The Trump administration is set to continue implementing its hard-line immigration agenda, which means arrests are expected to persist.
The ICE raids will likely lead to legal challenges and increased organizing from advocacy groups. Local leaders, such as Baraka, are pushing back, while pressure is growing on federal officials to address potential constitutional violations.
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