Community comes out for the May Day Protest on May 13, 2026. (Courtesy of Paul Jaigua)
A draconian scene of Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raiding the streets of Hudson County has kept the community at-large on edge and eyes glued to the news.
Parks that once were teeming community gatherings and celebrations as neighbors ran to get a good spot to set up their parties, now appear ghostly. Avenues that were filled with movement and familiar faces, have an eerie feel as more locals hide in fear or are not here anymore.
Slice of Culture has been covering the happenings of ICE presence in the community, the detention center, deaths of members detained at Delaney Hall and the resurgence of raids taking place.
On the ground, municipalities have built up a patchwork of policies countering ICE, with Jersey City, Hoboken, Kearny, North Bergen and Hudson County itself all passing executive orders barring ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents from using public property to stage or process civil immigration enforcement—unless required by law or backed by a judicial warrant.
What has been telling is how ICE decides to act in the streets of Hudson County.
As of this writing, raids have been adding up:
- Sightings in New Brunswick keep neighbors closed in their homes
- Masked ICE agents complete arrest on 64th Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard in North Bergen, disregarding Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s law that bans ICE agents and police to wear masks while on the job
- An arrest of one individual at the 9th Street Light Rail Station caught on video by Jersey City Ward D Councilman Jake Ephros, as previously reported by Slice of Culture
What’s Been Happening And How Local Government Is Responding
The roads are stymied with the lingering fear of who will be the federal agents’ next target.
Hudson County made steps last year to push back on ICE, with the unanimous approval (9-0) on a resolution to establish the Immigrant Community Safety Committee, a second ICE-related task force; the other group is named the Safe Communities Committee, as reported by Hudson County View.
An executive order signed by Hudson County Commissioner Craig Guy calls for the restriction of ICE and CBP from continuing operations on county property.
“Hudson County remains devoted to the protection of its immigrant community from unlawful civil enforcement practices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
– Mark Cygan in an email statement to Slice of Culture
“County Executive Guy signed Executive Orders banning unlawful civil enforcement operations on County property and establishing internal and external committees to encourage transparency between government and the public.”
Early morning texts on Signal, the messaging app, alerting residents of potential ICE sightings have individuals and families strained with fear, thinking if they will be next in the round of detentions.
“It’s the destruction of a family…it makes it harder for everybody, not just that single individual who was taken,” said Aaron Weiner, a rapid responder for the Spirit of Liberation (SOL) Jersey City, saying that the alerts of ICE have become more frequent.
He said that oftentimes he will go to the sight where ICE was present biking and whistling alerting neighbors nearby.
“By the time I get there they [ICE] have already done the kidnapping.”
Weiner, who is running for county commissioner (District 4), said he would give residents the necessary protections to buffer ICE raids from uprooting families, as reported by JC IN THE NEWS, a Jersey City-based Substack account.
Jersey City Mayor James Solomon took to social media sounding the alarm of four sightings of ICE activity in the Downtown and the Heights neighborhoods.
“ICE says they are going after criminals but all the evidence says otherwise,” said the mayor.
According to figures collected by TRAC Immigration, a data registry showing ICE detentions nationwide, 70.6% of those detainees have no criminal convictions, as of July 11 a total of 65,765 immigrants were held at an ICE facility.
Slice of Culture reached out to the Solomon administration inquiring on the number of Jersey City residents detained by DHS, which the city deferred to DHS for comment on response. After numerous attempts to contact DHS, no information has been provided since the time of this reporting.
The county no longer runs its own ICE detention contract, which ended back in 2021, severing a 10-year contract with ICE on a county level.
Looking Behind The Numbers: The People Who Have Been Impacted
In July, nearly 50,000 ICE arrests were made, making it the highest monthly total in his current administration as reported by the Associated Press. And in the most recent weeks, the border of Union City and West New York between 48th and 49th street have been a hotspot for arrests, with multiple recorded ICE arrests.
The increase of local arrests has left many residents scared to go out. Local businesses like Noches de Colombia in Union City have noticed an estimated 50% decrease in clientele.
The death of detainee Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, a 41-year-old of Salvadoran descent, was the third reported death at the detention facility based in the City of Newark. He died at University Hospital in Newark, hours after being transferred from Delaney Hall, where he “experienced a medical emergency while in ICE custody,” as cited by a report by DHS.
Raul Raagas, a native of Cebu City, Philippines who has lived in Jersey City since the 1990s was snatched by ICE agents on July 24 on his way to work, as previously reported by Slice of Culture.
Earlier this year, Senate Democrats blocked additional funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), demanding reforms to ICE and CBP after federal agents killed two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, in Minneapolis in January, as previously reported by Slice of Culture in the demonstrations which took place at Jersey City Hall.
The standoff triggered the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, which ended in April with a bill funding only DHS’s non-immigration operations, leaving ICE and CBP without a budget.
The Trump administration takes on a self prescribed Orwellian approach, in the act of federal executive orders that already undermines the status of refugees who were already approved of their visas.
In a robust effort by rogue law enforcement agencies, to detain those outside legal status, ICE managed to arrest more than 10,000 people in the span of five days, a figure reported by the New York Times.
What Financial Support Means For those Detained
The Center for Migration Studies estimates that a mass deportation campaign would nearly halve median household income for mixed-status families, impacting the U.S. economy and rendering more than 10 million U.S. citizens to financial hardships.
Immigrants contribute to the financial equity of the county–a figure of approximately $80 million, according to a report by Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a Washington, D.C.-based institute.
Courtney Walker, an activist, has been attending the county commissioner meeting for months, speaking in the public eye on those taken by ICE raids and seeking ways to bring financial ease to those impacted.
Walker said the price of baby formula for mothers’ whose husbands have been taken away, are dealt with the brunt of costs, noting that a can could cost around $40 to $50.
“Eviction has become an issue in Hudson County and when ICE gets involved it makes it even harder to recover,” said Walker.
She said she attends monthly meetings with the county on allocating the $2 million approved by the county for food, rent and legal aid in the 2026 county budget.
Advocates have pushed for a $2 million county fund for food, rent and legal aid, but as of the county’s $769 million June 2026 budget, those funds had not been fully allocated and was left to $1.31 million in additional funding.
Slice of Culture also spoke to the Waterfront Project, a housing advocacy group established in 2013, on the principle of helping provide free legal services to tenants of low-income backgrounds.
“The narrative that is often pushed is that you have undocumented people receiving public benefits that could otherwise be going to citizens,” said Elizabeth Hurley, who added that she had been hearing of instances where the landlord had called ICE to remove the tenant, who found themselves without legal status.
“Most tenants we know are underrepresented,” she added.
How Many Civilians Have Been Detained And Where’s The Money Going?
The numbers are hazy with ICE detentions.
A scathing report put out by the Deportation Data Project compiled by the U.C. Berkeley and University of California found that since Trump’s inauguration last year over 610,000 individuals have been detained.
Adding on, the Trump administration has announced efforts to revoke up to 200,000 business and tourism related visas who had already applied for asylum status here in the United States.
According to data compiled by Estamos Unidos NJ, an immigrant advocacy organization, shows that ICE abductions this year alone in August were 60, which totaled to 205 arrests according to the data provided, while sightings of ICE summed to 394 individuals.
“These unpredictable patterns have left community members feeling anxious around commuting to and from work over fears of not returning home to their families,” said Estamos Unidos NJ to Slice of Culture in a direct message on Instagram.
The organization pointed out that when it comes to county-mandated policies pushing back on the ruthless agency, referring to the executive order signed earlier this year on Feb. 10, banning ICE and CBP from county properties.
“This has been completely ignored by agencies,” they added.
Slice of Culture reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) a plethora of times on data showing how many residents from Hudson County find themselves under ICE custody, no response has been provided since the time of this reporting.
At the county’s final budget hearing meeting on June 11 of this year, Hudson County Counsel Alberico De Pierro read Guy’s announcement aloud to the board of commissioners, outlining a budget amendment that funnels new money into three county offices.
The Hudson County Law Department will see $150,000 earmarked for constituent legal services. The Office of Food and Health Equity, housed within the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), will receive $160,000 to support food pantry providers working to combat hunger across Hudson County.
Additionally, the Office of Family Services and Reintegration will get the largest share—$1 million—for rental assistance programs.
As recently as July 21, county commissioners were pushing for more security guard training and CCTV cameras at James J. Braddock Park in North Bergen due to heavy ICE presence there.
On a federal scope, members of congress have also taken plight against the raids of ICE in Hudson County.
“The recent spike in ICE activity across our communities has deeply impacted our families, friends, and neighbors. During each visit to Delaney, we hear the painful stories of families torn apart and loved ones suddenly taken from the lives they have built here,” said Democratic Rep. Rob Menendez to Slice of Culture in an email statement.
“No one should ever have to face these challenges alone. Our office is committed to protecting our residents, ending the terrorization of our communities, and closing Delaney Hall.”
With ICE raids in Hudson County, even places of worship have become a target zone for immigrants as told to Slice of Culture, amidst immigrant families afraid they will be taken next by ICE enforcement. One source—who wished not to be identified or the church due to fear of retaliation—said the services have become emptier due to fears of ICE enforcement.
“This is a really scary way to live, but it is realistic,” said the worker at the church establishment in an interview with Slice of Culture.
“We have signs on the doors about entering private property. They [ICE] don’t really give a damn, they are going to do what they want to do.”
Resources To Help Your Neighbors
For more information on resources you can access when it comes to immigration updates, the following are a Slice of Culture curated selection:
- Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) clinic helping navigate the application process, remote option is available offered by AFSC NJ Immigrant Rights Program.
- Mutual Aid Network NJ fundraised $4,600 which will go directly to the families of those impacted by ICE or actively being detained. To join the movement you can click the link here
- A weekly vigil held on Mondays starting at 7:30 p.m. referred to as the People’s Vigil has been taking place.
