BELLEVILLE, NJ — More details have emerged about an ICE operation in Belleville that ended with five arrests last week.
An initial report about Thursday's arrests came via Mayor Frank Vélez, who said the activity took place on Rutgers Street and Van Reyper Place.
"Based on information provided by witnesses at both locations, multiple landscaping workers were taken into ICE custody," the mayor said.
No Belleville officials were notified in advance about the ICE operations, and the town's police department was not involved, Vélez added.
On Monday, a spokesperson with ICE confirmed that five people were taken into custody on July 23. Each is accused of being "unlawfully present in the United States."
"All illegal aliens have or will receive full due process and will remain in ICE custody pending removal from the United States," a spokesperson told Patch.
"Under President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, ICE is targeting the worst of the worst," the agency alleged. "Nearly 70 percent of ICE arrests are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S. Our message is clear: if you come into our country illegally and break our laws, we will find you, we will arrest you, and we will deport you."
As part of his campaign platform in 2024, the president vowed to immediately launch a nationwide immigration crackdown as soon as he was elected.
"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.
Advocates and family members of ICE detainees have pushed back against the claim that most of the people getting caught up in the sweeps are "criminals," however.
In April, data research organization Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse reported that out of 60,311 people held in ICE detention across the nation, about 70.8 percent had no criminal conviction before being apprehended – and many of those who do were convicted only of minor offenses such as traffic violations.
In May, a data analysis from NJ Advance Media found that more than three in four people detained in the state since January 2025 had no criminal record.
Although the focus on federal immigration enforcement has ramped up since Trump took office, large-scale ICE raids also took place in New Jersey during the administration of his predecessor, Joe Biden.
LAWMAKERS, COMMUNITY MEMBERS REACT
Two Democratic state lawmakers from the region also issued statements about last week's arrests: Sen. Britnee Timberlake and Assemblywoman Carmen Morales.
Morales said she was "deeply disturbed" to hear reports that landscapers working in Belleville were detained during recent ICE activity.
"As both the Assemblywoman representing Belleville and a Belleville resident, this hits close to home," Morales said. "Every member of our community deserves to be treated with dignity and afforded their constitutional rights."
Timberlake said that nobody deserves to be "targeted, intimidated or removed from their community" through unlawful or discriminatory practices.
"We will continue fighting for their safety, dignity and due process," she said.
"If you witness ICE operations or believe someone is being unlawfully targeted, it is important to respond safely and know your rights," Timberlake added. "The New Jersey Department of Human Services has issued clear guidance on what to do, including how to document incidents, report concerns, and connect affected families with legal and humanitarian support."
Some local residents have agreed with federal authorities and said they support ICE in their community.
"Good, finally, the laws being enforced," one person commented on the mayor's social media post. "Hope it is a good example for local government."
"So in other words: federal laws are being enforced," another person wrote.
"Nobody likes to see families broken up but everyone has to be held to the same standards," another commenter said. "I wish more of them would go about establishing citizenship the right way."
Other community members said they want greater oversight of ICE agents and more empathy for immigrants.
"Many of these people that are being arrested are law-abiding citizens that work sometimes two jobs just to support their family and they contribute to the community," a commenter wrote. "Hopefully they have due process and their documentation verified."
A commenter who identified as a retired law enforcement officer said that many people don't understand the actual job description of ICE agents – and how they have changed.
"What you are seeing today is not the job I was trained to do," he commented. "We arrested drug dealers, murderers, car thieves, human traffickers, people guilty of assault. Not innocent women, children, soldiers and priests."
Another person suggested that compassion and accountability don't have to be opposites.
"We can support public safety while also recognizing the humanity of people who are simply trying to survive and provide for their loved ones," they wrote.
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