Thank you to our Local Business Sponsor:
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Federal immigration agents apprehended two people in Maplewood last weekend, a local official reported Sunday.
According to Mayor Nancy Adams, three ICE agents in unmarked cars apprehended two people just four blocks from her home – an incident that she described as “an aggressive Trump-era tactic meant to sow fear.”
Adams released the following statement about last weekend’s incident:
Local advocacy group SOMA Action also released a statement criticizing the arrests, reporting that the incident took place around 11 a.m.
According to advocates, masked ICE and Border Patrol agents loaded the two arrestees into unmarked, out-of-state vehicles on Prospect Street.
“No SOMA resident should fear being seized on their way to work or have to bear the burden of these injustices alone,” said Allison Posner, co-president of SOMA Action.
“These kidnappings are a blatant violation of human decency,” Posner said.
Earlier this year, Maplewood was one of several Essex County towns and cities that found themselves on a list of sanctuary cities that were allegedly “defying federal immigration law,” although it’s unclear why the township was cited.
The list also included several other municipalities in Essex County: Bloomfield, East Orange, Montclair, Newark and South Orange.
Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Learn more about advertising on Patch here. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

source