Father Of 9-Year-Old, Newborn Among Those Detained In Princeton ICE Raid

PRINCETON, NJ — A father of two, who just dropped one of his kids off at school, was among two people taken during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation on Thursday in Princeton, Senator Andrew Zwicker said.

"Today, ICE agents snatched a 40-year-old Princeton father just after he dropped his nine-year-old son off at school, leaving his wife alone with their newborn baby and shattering an entire family," said Senator Andrew Zwicker.

"Schools kept students indoors, not for a drill or threat from a stranger, but because federal agents rolled into town to terrorize our neighbors," said Zwicker.

The Municipality of Princeton and the Princeton Police Department confirmed that ICE was present in the community at around 8:30 a.m. on Thursday in the area of Birch Avenue and John Street.

Resistencia en Accion, a grassroots migrant justice organization, also reported at 11:30 a.m. that they got a report of possible ICE activity on Jefferson Road.

Princeton independently confirmed that two adult men were detained.

"There are no words powerful enough to convey my outrage and sadness. As a community is grieving the loss of a kind and caring neighbor, ICE has shown nothing but contempt for the rule of law and the safety of our communities, both here in New Jersey and across the country," said Zwicker.

Zwicker called on New Jersey lawmakers to take steps to "protect our residents and fight every senseless kidnapping inflicted on our neighbors."

"The violent raids, lawless detentions, and deadly encounters must stop now," said Zwicker.

ICE has not responded to repeated requests for comment from Patch.

ICE Release

After spending days in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center, Morristown High School student Juan Daniel Mendoza has been released. Read More: NJ High School Student Taken By ICE While Doing Laundry Released

U.S. District Judge Evelyn Padin found that his arrest was “unlawful” and ordered his release on Thursday afternoon.

Mendoza was one of eleven people rounded up in Morristown on Sunday near Speedwell Avenue. The 18-year-old was doing his laundry at a laundromat when federal agents swarmed the area and placed him under arrest.

ICE Sightings

On Monday in Somerset County, (ICE) operations were reported in Warren Township.

A video shared with Patch shows a white van surrounded by multiple vehicles and authorities seen running over to it on Hillcrest Boulevard just off Exit 40 of Interstate 78 in Warren Township on Monday.

• Related: ICE Surrounds Van In Somerset County, Video Shows
• Related: ICE Pulls People From Cars In Somerset County Raids, Officials Say
• Related: Lawmakers Advance 3 Bills To Limit ICE Powers In NJ Amid Nationwide Controversy

— With reporting by Jack Slocum

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