Atlantic City officials respond to concerns about recent ICE operations there

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Atlantic City officials responded Wednesday to concerns from immigrant communities about federal officers conducting operations in the city. According to El Pueblo Unido of Atlantic City, an immigration advocacy group, activity from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has increased since mid-December. The group has been documenting ICE actions in the city on their Facebook and Instagram pages.

“Let me make this crystal clear on the record, the great city of Atlantic City supports the immigrant community,” said Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. “We don’t just talk the walk, we walk the walk, because we always say that the Small administration says what it means and means what it says.”

Small said a multicultural parade planned for last year was called off because the presence of ICE agents made people afraid to leave their houses.

“A lot of the community didn’t want to be in a public space not knowing what can happen,” the mayor added. “We value the feedback from the community, and no one wanted to participate because of the situation.”

City officials said they do not know where ICE operates, or the number of people agents have taken into custody, because of the state’s Immigrant Trust Directive, from the attorney general ‘s office, limiting the assistance that local and state law enforcement can provide to ICE officers.

The Legislature this week voted to codify the directive into law. It is among a package of bills aimed at strengthening public trust and safety among immigrant communities that awaits Gov. Phil Murphy’s signature.

The directive says law enforcement in the state must not assist ICE with removal operations, according to Sean Riggin, Atlantic City’s public safety director.

“The upside to that is that it means that when ICE is coming and doing civil removal, they’re doing it on their own,” Riggin said. “The downside to that is that we don’t coordinate with ICE. We don’t know when they’re here. We don’t know what they’re doing. They don’t coordinate with us.”

The most recent ICE operation happened Monday, according to El Pueblo Unido. Cristian Moreno-Rodriguez, the organization’s director, said it was part of a “much larger pattern” immigrants have been experiencing.

“[Our community] has been living through a pattern of raids, intimidation and family separation carried out by a federal agency that operates through fear,” he said.

Moreno-Rodriguez said his organization has a team of volunteers who bring cameras to locations where ICE officers are conducting operations to record what takes place.

“For moments like these, our trained volunteers document, they observe, they report, they do not interfere and they do not escalate,” he said. “Their role is to protect our community by shining light where harm is happening and by reminding federal agents that our neighborhoods are not unmonitored and our people are not invisible.”

Small said he understands that city officials cannot interfere with federal law enforcement officers, but he expects ICE agents to follow “the legal letter of the laws.”

“There’s always legislative intent, and we just want to make sure that their rights are protected and preserved,” he said, referring to immigrant communities.