'ICE Does Not Separate Families' Spokesperson Says After NJ Video Controversy

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — A video last Friday — of immigration agents carrying out their duties in front of two crying boys in school uniforms — was mischaracterized and misreported, according to federal officials.

"The description of this social media video is false," a spokesperson for the federal Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday. "This is not a video of a mother and her children being arrested by ICE officers, but rather children being placed into the custody of a legal guardian after their father was arrested by ICE for [not following] our nation’s laws."

The spokesperson identified the father as Dionicio Miguel Francisco-Gutierrez, "a criminal illegal alien, [arrested] during targeted immigration enforcement operations" conducted on Friday in North Bergen.

The spokesperson said that on July 19, 2023, Francisco-Gutierrez was convicted of violating the Pennsylvania Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act. He was previously arrested twice on drug charges in the state; first in December 2022, and again in April 2023, the spokesperson said.

"ICE does not separate families," the spokesperson noted. "Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children or ICE will place the children with a safe person the parent designates."

North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco and Township Commissioner Hugo Cabrera said last Saturday that they're "forcefully condemning a recent federal immigration enforcement action carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents within North Bergen" near a school.

"The trauma inflicted on young children witnessing a parent or caregiver being detained is profound and lasting," Cabrera said. " We must demand a higher standard of humanity and discretion from federal agencies operating within our borders."

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