There are concerns that masked immigration agents in New Jersey have been raiding homes, knocking on doors without presenting a warrant, and demanding that people open their doors.
Doorbell video released by Congressman Herb Conaway (D-NJ 3rd District) on the 17th shows masked immigration agents demanding to open the door of a home in Burlington Township without identifying themselves.
According to the video, the agents are wearing jackets that say “POLICE,” but their agency is not specified. When a woman inside the home refused to answer the door and asked the agents who they were and why they were wearing masks, the agents did not answer properly and instead said, “We’re looking for a man.” The woman inside the house said, “I don’t know the man I’m looking for and there’s no one else home,” but the knocking grew louder. The woman asked if they had a warrant and demanded to see it, but the agents refused.
After a six-minute altercation, the agents finally left the house. Rep. Conaway strongly condemned the video, saying, “The people in this video violated the procedures they are supposed to follow as federal immigration agents.”
Immigrant rights advocacy groups called the video “appalling” and emphasized, “Residents have the right to ask for a warrant before opening a door. This is a clear example of why everyone, regardless of immigration status, should know their constitutional rights.”
Meanwhile, immigration raids targeting businesses continue in New Jersey.
According to ABC News and other sources, agents raided a seafood distributor in Newark on the morning of the 19th and detained 13 people. The same business was also targeted in an immigration raid in January.
The New Jersey Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office said in a statement that “as part of a criminal investigation, we executed a search warrant on the 19th and arrested 13 undocumented immigrants working at the Ocean Seafood Depot in Newark.”