US Immigration agents raid businesses, detain migrants, ‘citizens’ in New Jersey

U.S. immigration agents raided business establishments in Newark, New Jersey, on Thursday and detained undocumented residents as well as citizens, including a U.S. military veteran, the city’s mayor said.

The raid in New Jersey’s most populous city, hailed in the past by mayor Ras Baraka for its “sanctuary” policies protecting migrants, follows President Donald Trump’s pledge to deport millions of immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally.

Trump issued a raft of executive orders after taking office on Monday that aim to clamp down on illegal immigration. He has taken steps to punish officials who resist enforcement of his sweeping crackdown.

In a raid of a business establishment in Newark, outside New York City, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents failed to produce a warrant as they detained “undocumented residents as well as citizens,” Baraka said in a statement.

“One of the detainees is a U.S. military veteran who suffered the indignity of having the legitimacy of his military documentation questioned,” Baraka said.

Baraka said the act violates the citizens’ rights under the U.S. Constitution. “Newark will not stand by idly while people are being unlawfully terrorised,” he said.

Baraka did not identify the business raided by name. The White House and ICE had no immediate comment on the raid.

Baraka is one of the first local officials in the U.S. to state a specific raid following the start of Trump’s immigration crackdown.

In 2017, he signed an executive order cementing Newark’s sanctuary status and was a vocal opponent of Trump’s immigration policies during the president’s first term.

Of the estimated 11 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally or with temporary status in 2022, about 44% lived in states with “sanctuary” laws that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

That figure does not include those in sanctuary cities and counties in places without a statewide law, such as New Mexico.

U.S. media outlets reported that federal law enforcement and ICE agents had arrested nearly 500 undocumented migrants wanted for outstanding crimes in sanctuary cities, including some from New York and New Jersey. The reports cited ICE officials who said the arrests took place on Tuesday and Wednesday.