A clash over immigration enforcement intensified in Atlantic City on Monday, with activists demanding a police investigation and Mayor Marty Small Sr. saying the city has no legal authority to intervene in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.
Immigrant advocates held a press conference Monday, two days after demonstrators were arrested during a protest outside Atlantic City police headquarters.
Cristian Moreno-Rodriguez, executive director of El Pueblo Unido of Atlantic City, an immigrant-rights organization, vowed to continue documenting ICE operations in Atlantic City and the surrounding area.
Along with launching the probe, Moreno-Rodriguez urged Atlantic City to create a public fund to help undocumented immigrants retain lawyers.
Moreno-Rodriguez, who was among those arrested Saturday, also vowed to continue documenting ICE operations in Atlantic City and the surrounding area.
"ICE has guns, we have cameras," said Moreno-Rodriguez, who was one of the protesters arrested Saturday.
On Monday, the mayor disputed claims that Atlantic City police secretly assist ICE during local enforcement actions.
"While we may not agree with the tactics being used, there is nothing within our legal authority that allows us to intervene in federal operations," Small said. "Federal authorities do not notify the city or the Atlantic City Police Department when they plan to conduct operations in Atlantic City."
The dispute stems from a traffic stop last week involving Moreno-Rodriguez last Thursday as he was following a federal agent's vehicle.
The officer told the activist that he had been pulled over for running several traffic lights. Moreno-Rodriguez, however, argues that the officer stopped him to help ICE agents who were operating nearby, a claim the police department has refuted.
Local police have accused Moreno-Rodriguez and other activists of violating traffic laws to document ICE agents moving throughout the city.
Saturday's protest, which began around 11 a.m., drew about 50 people. An altercation in the crowd outside the police station prompted officers to intervene.
Several protesters were arrested after they disobeyed commands to clear the area in front of the building.
Along with Moreno-Rodriguez, the others charged Saturday are:
Diana Chaparro, 50, of Hammonton (simple assault)
Jose Salazar, 18, of Princeton (simple assault, illegal possession of a chemical device)
Keli Smith, 41, of Egg Harbor Township (obstruction of justice, resisting arrest)
Anthony Diaz, 30, of Newark (obstruction of justice)
Devon Barber, 28, of Atlantic City (simple assault)
One person sustained minor injuries during the initial altercation and was transported to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center for treatment.
For months, El Pueblo Unido has formed "rapid response teams," in which volunteers tail ICE agents, recording and photographing agents' movements, in an attempt to warn people targeted by the agency.
As volunteers track ICE agents, they share their locations on social media.
"Families tell us they stayed home because of our alerts," Moreno-Rodriguez said. "Businesses have protected their employees because they have received our alerts."
"Sometimes we are loud, because silence has never protected our community," Moreno-Rodriguez added. "Our voices have."
The organizers have said ICE agents have increasingly been seen in the Atlantic City area since last year, when the agency resumed large-scale enforcement operations under President Donald Trump.
Federal agents have arrested dozens of people since July, Moreno-Rodriguez said.
Under the New Jersey Attorney General's Immigrant Trust Directive, local police are limited in their ability to assist ICE agents, but the directive does not fully bar contact between local police and ICE agents.
A spokesperson for ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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