Advocates for immigrants call for an investigation, while ICE denies claims

A coalition of immigrant rights advocates is calling for an investigation into whether U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement used private contractors to help arrest immigrants during a recent enforcement operation in Warren County.

Members of No ICE in North Jersey Alliance, also known as Project NINJA, said ICE may have paid contractors $3,000 per person per day to assist in the Aug. 6 operation on Main Street in Hackettstown.

“If true, this would constitute a violation of federal law,” the group said in a statement. “Private security staff are legally permitted to be used as staff for ICE concentration camps, but are not legally permitted to be used to make immigration arrests.”

Guy Citron, a Hunterdon County Democrat and vocal opponent of ICE, told The Jersey Vindicator that word of the third-party contractors had reached him through local sources.  

“A friend in town told me that a private security company helped ICE [on Aug. 6],” he said. “Its workers were allegedly offered $3,000 bonuses, and told to take 40 people total.”

Citron said he can’t prove it, but the issue is serious enough that someone should look into it.

“Our government was designed to stop tyranny. This is why we have the Bill of Rights,” Citron said. “But now masked agents are taking our neighbors away, separating families, and locking people up without basic due process.”  

An ICE spokesperson denied the allegations Wednesday afternoon, telling The Jersey Vindicator that the agency does not use private contractors or bounty hunters to make arrests.

“These types of smears are designed to demonize and villainize our brave ICE law enforcement and are one of the reasons our enforcement officers face nearly 1,300% increase in the assaults against them,” the spokesperson said in an email.

The spokesperson said ICE officers clearly identify themselves as law enforcement during operations but wear masks to protect their identities “from gangs like Tren de Aragua and MS-13, criminal rings, murderers and rapists.”

Officers arrested 14 people during what the agency spokesperson described as routine immigration enforcement near Hackettstown on Aug. 6.

According to ICE, two of the 14 people had criminal histories. Rafael Salazar, a Dominican Republic national, allegedly had previously been arrested twice in Miami on cocaine possession charges. ICE also alleged that Luis Rivera Guillen, a Honduran national, had convictions in New York for criminal mischief with intent to damage property and possession of controlled substances.

All 14 people entered the United States without authorization and are being detained while undergoing removal proceedings or awaiting removal, according to the spokesperson.

The spokesperson concluded the response with language ICE has recently used in other statements, saying that being in detention “is a choice” and encouraging detained immigrants to agree to leave the country voluntarily.

Representatives from Project NINJA contacted Hackettstown Mayor Jerry DiMaio about the operation, but he did not know the details of the federal agents’ activities.

“Neither the police department nor I were aware of the reported detention,” DiMaio told the group. “I agree that the public should be informed … however, we have not yet received any information from DHS.”

When contacted by The Jersey Vindicator, the mayor added that his primary concern is the “safety and well-being of all of our residents.”

“I also believe it is important that residents have accurate information and that any law enforcement activity is conducted appropriately and in accordance with the law,” he continued. “At this point, I don’t have any additional information beyond what I previously stated. If the town receives any official information regarding the situation, we will review it and communicate with our residents as appropriate.”

William Angus, co-founder of Project NINJA, said Hackettstown’s elected officials will have to choose a side.

“Do they defend their constituents from the dangers of ICE’s often illegal actions, or do they turn a blind eye?” Angus said. “Will they commit to ensuring that ICE follows the law, and take appropriate action when they don’t — which, unfortunately, is frequent?”

The group urged residents to attend the next Hackettstown Town Council meeting tonight, Aug. 13, to demand answers about how the town will ensure residents remain safe during ICE operations.

The Hackettstown-area operation appears to be part of a wider push by ICE to ratchet up arrests in the Garden State.

Several communities have reported an increased presence of ICE agents, including Hightstown, where agents were reportedly spotted questioning people on the street; South Orange, where agents reportedly grabbed four people, including a handyman, two roofers, and a popular chef at a local restaurant; and Morristown, where agents allegedly chased people through several backyards. People have also been detained when they show up for green card hearings, including a Princeton woman who was detained when she went to the Mt. Laurel immigration office for a routine appointment.

The agency’s increased presence and use of new tactics, such as arresting people at airports or setting up checkpoints, led to more arrests in July than in any previous month, according to Stateline.

In June, the agency arrested about 43,000 immigrants. That number rose to 51,000 in July, the outlet reported. It is still unclear how many of those arrests occurred in New Jersey.