ICE Out: Hudson County Officials Issue Emergency Community Meetings, Educational Resources After Arrests

Screenshot of Jersey City community meeting via Zoom.

Editor’s note: Chelsea Pujols works in Immigration law.

Many Hudson County community members made a statement on Sunday through emergency meetings and social media posts: get ICE out of their communities.

On Sunday, a video circulated on social media showing an ICE agent arresting a brown-skinned man near the 9th Street Light Rail elevator in Jersey City Heights, an episode that has left residents in the surrounding community feeling on edge.

The footage recorded by Jersey City Ward D Councilman Jake Ephros, who identified himself to ICE agents, showed the individual at one point run away from the agent and run up Paterson Plank Road before being detained. The agent then loaded him up into an unmarked vehicle with a blacked-out license plate.

“You can continue talking, but we’re not going to answer any questions,” an unnamed ICE agent said to Ephros in the recording. “We don’t need a warrant, bro. Get that out of your head.”

Another brown-skinned individual was approached by ICE, and clarified to a different agent that he is “from here.” The camera then panned to the first individual, who was being handcuffed. It is unclear if the second individual, who identified himself as a resident or citizen, was detained as well.

A similar scenario of an ICE raid occurred in the township of Teaneck, roughly 30 minutes north of the Heights, where local law enforcement responded to 911 calls reporting “suspicious activity,” later to find that ICE immigration agents were operating in the community, according to the Teaneck Daily Voice.

Officials say the agents briefly stopped a child and her uncle on their way to school, but released them after verifying the man is a U.S. citizen, according to reporting by NJ Advance Media.

The Repercussions Of ICE In Communities

The happenings of the Jersey City arrest prompted a virtual community of over 500 members to attend and discuss ways to address ICE—federal agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement—and curtail arrests made by ICE, referred to as “La Migra” or “El Hielo.”

At the meeting hosted by city councilman Ephros, he confirmed the ICE agents arrived at Central Avenue Sunday morning, went to the light rail station, took the elevator to the platform at Congress and 9th street and then headed over to Summit and Hague, where many day laborers rely on public transportation.

One spokesperson for SOL also confirmed in the meeting that the timing of ICE raids took place between 10 a.m. and 10:50 a.m. at the light rail station adjacent to the South Street and Central Avenue intersection in Jersey City.

“Every single person in Jersey City is less safe because of what happened today.”
Jersey City Mayor James Solomon said, who condemned the arrests in the community.

“It puts law enforcement and federal enforcement in sort of opposition to each other, and it sets up really dangerous scenarios,” he added, citing the escalation in ICE agents in Minneapolis who took the lives of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

Solomon confirmed with Jersey City Police Department and light rail police that they did not have any involvement this morning, and that no notice was given in advance from ICE.

The mayor recently signed off on new municipal executive orders, as previously reported by Slice of Culture, aiming to discourage the compliance between local law enforcement and federal ICE agents.

The round up of executive orders makes three significant changes:

It requires standardized protocols and training for all city employees on interactions with immigration authorities
Prohibits the use of city property for ICE operations
Broadens access to legal assistance through partnerships with nonprofit organizations, according to the mandate

Hoboken also held an impromptu community meeting to discuss Sunday morning’s incident. The individual was arrested at the 9th light rail, which is on the border of Jersey City and Hoboken. Multiple reports stated that ICE agents were also traveling in the Hoboken area.

Both Jersey City and Hoboken did not notify ICE federal agents and did not collaborate in federal civil immigration enforcement.

“I know how unsettling and frightening this news can feel, especially for our immigrant neighbors. We remain committed to supporting every resident, regardless of background or immigration status.”
Hoboken Mayor Emily Jabbour said in a statement.

In Hudson County alone, over 72,000 residents currently do not possess legal status and more than 40% of Jersey City residents were born outside the U.S.

The arrests are part of a wider increase in ICE activity across New Jersey, with similar operations reported in the township of Morristown, leading to the arrest of 11 individuals, according to ICE. “If you see an ICE agent in the street, get your phone out…we want to know,” said New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, in a recent interview with “The Daily Show.”

She also announced the state’s effort in rolling out an online portal, modeled after systems in New York and California, that would allow residents to upload videos of ICE raids and arrests for public viewing.

As of now, recent data figures by ICE have registered over 5,300 arrests in New Jersey at the wake of a new governorship under Sherill.

According to data from the Deportation Data Project, a public data registry, last year ICE detentions from Jan. 21 through July 29 added to over 3,000 arrests—this is about 110% increase compared to the same period in 2024, when there were 1,526 arrests, according to reporting by the Jersey Bee.

How To Protect Yourself And Your Neighbors

Jake Ephros, the Jersey City Councilman for Jersey City Heights who recorded the incident, said Sunday was “unprecedented violence against our communities.”

“This is an attack on all of us,” Ephros said.

In order to prepare individuals to protect themselves, loved ones and neighbors, organizationsSpirit of Liberation (SOL) and Estamos Unidos offer bilingual training to educate the community on what to do if ICE visits their home, a local business or if someone is stopped on the street.

If you are recording an arrest, here are key phrases to say when recording ICE activity, according to SOL:

“Are you law enforcement? Please show your ID.”
“I do not have to open the door/window without a warrant.”
“I am exercising my right to remain silent.”
“I have the right to remain silent.”
“I am grounded in my community. I am not alone.”

SOL also encouraged attendees to:

Record horizontally in order to capture every detail possible
To record yourself taking step back to document that you are not being violent
To speak calmly and clearly
Record if there are other cameras around to prove that there is another angle or perspective of what is happening.

While SOL encourages recording arrests happening, they do not recommend posting the video directly to social media without the person’s or family of the person being arrested’s consent. Videos or photos of arrests can be sent to 201-616-2816, SOL’s emergency hotline. SOL posting ICE’s vehicles or the location of the arrest or raid.

Civil rights groups recommend asking if you are being detained when confronted by ICE, and if no statement is provided, you are free to walk away, as advised by a SOL spokesperson, who did not wish to have their name disclosed to the media due the escalation of ICE raids.

SOL said ICE can be recognized as wearing non-medical masks or vests with “POLICE” written in large text. These acronyms may also appear underneath in a smaller text:

ERO (Enforcement and Removal Operations)
HSI (Homeland Security Investigations)
DHS (Department of Homeland Security)
ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement)
CPB (Customs & Border Protection)

The organization added that ICE vehicles are often unmarked with tinted windows with the front plate missing. They identified some vehicles as Nissan Pathfinders or Subarus and said they drive in groups, caravan-style. They encourage community members to become familiar with each others’ cars in order to avoid confusion.

While it may seem as a solution to avoid being detained, SOL encouraged community members to avoid carrying false documents. They encourage carrying proof of residency, like a paystub, to prove that they have stayed in the U.S. for more than two years.

A home, a car, a bus, a school or local business are all designated as a private space, which requires ICE to present a judicial warrant before entering the property. A judicial warrant must have the following:

“US District Court” on the top
Say “federal arrest” or “search and seizure”
A person’s full name correctly spelled (if looking for a specific person)
Business name correctly spelled along with the business’s full address
Signed by a judge at the bottom, with the title “Magistrate judge.”

SOL also recommends for businesses to have a designated “Employees Only” sign clearly displayed and documented to protect themselves from unlawful presence or entrance from ICE agents.

ICE agents are barred from entering a private residence unless they have a valid judicial warrant—signed by a judge or magistrate—or receive voluntary consent from someone inside, indicated the SOL spokesperson.

In an internal ICE memo dated May 12 and authored by acting Director Todd Lyons, it states that ICE agents may forcibly enter a residence with an administrative warrant once a judge has issued a final order of removal.

SOL clarified at Sunday night’s meeting that memos are not law.

The meeting also discussed the rights of business owners when dealing with ICE raids, emphasizing that voluntary entry by individuals running from ICE agents creates a “constitutional safe zone” requiring a judicial warrant.

Jessica Gonzalez, an attorney who spoke at the Jersey City emergency meeting, gave information on what to do if someone being detained or targeted by ICE runs into a business.

She explained that if the business owner encourages them to come in, opens the door for them or hides them, it is considered harboring. If the person comes into the business voluntarily, the business is considered a constitutional safe zone. Business owners must remain silent at all times.

“That is one thing I noticed that a lot of these business owners did not know…today a lot of business owners lost a shit ton of business,” referring to the ICE arrest earlier today, said the attorney.

As for buses, NJ Transit does not have a policy in place regarding ICE agents or encounters. On Jan. 9, multiple people reported that ICE agents stopped a NJ Transit bus on 64th and Bergenline in West New York to take a woman who had just boarded. Greyhound does require a warrant for agents to board their buses. SOL encourages community members to inform jitney buses—also known as “guaguas”—drivers of their rights.

SOL warned that ICE targets bus stops knowing many people rely on public transportation.

“They’re not targeting specific people, they know they’re brown, they know where day laborers hang out,” they said. “They know we rely on public transportation, today was a test stop.”

One member in the meeting encouraged residents to essentially boycott New Jersey transit services to say, “I am not riding that New Jersey Transit, light rail or bus…if this is even a remote chance of happening again.”

The organization also told parents in attendance to become familiar with their school’s plans on what to do if ICE arrives. If they don’t have a plan in place, SOL advised parents to advocate for the school to have one. In order to protect middle school or high school students who walk home alone, parents should arrange pick-up schedules.

A teacher—who did not identify herself in the meeting—claimed that she owned her own tutoring center and expressed fear over children coming from “diverse backgrounds,” and is worried about classes moving forward amidst the ICE arrests.

“I can guarantee that attendance is going to be low, and it breaks my heart,” said the educator in the meeting. “I tutor students right now that are texting me because they are scared.”

If ICE is knocking at your door, SOL advises to not open the door or window. Residents should begin recording the interaction immediately and have someone else in the home call their hotline, if possible.

If ICE presents a warrant, residents should ask the agent to slide it under the door. Residents should calmly and slowly read the warrant to verify if their name and address are written correctly.

During the Q&A session, many residents expressed fear, but also a sense of unity when it comes to spotting ICE.

“They are out there like vultures,” said one member during the Q&A session, who said she spoke to light rail workers for nearly an hour with the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail in fear of future arrests made. NJ Transit does not have policies in place concerning ICE raids.

In New Jersey, there are various organizations, coalitions and nonprofits that work to assist undocumented individuals and families for free through educational classes and workshops, including legal representation and more.