Three people were arrested by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division in the July 10 raid, according to Resistencia en Accion New Jersey. The grass-roots group has offices on Witherspoon Street in Princeton.

But Princeton officials, including Mayor Mark Freda and Princeton Councilman Leighton Newlin, said that the municipal government – including the Princeton Police Department – had no involvement in the raid and did not learn of it until later.

Speaking through an interpreter at the rally, Angela Ramos said the news spread that ICE agents were roaming the streets and making arrests. Several ICE vehicles were parked on Witherspoon Street, near the Princeton Public Library.

Community members approached the ICE vehicles, but the agents did not roll down the vehicle windows or respond to questions about who they were and why they were in Princeton, Ramos said.

Fatima Mughal of Princeton Mutual Aid said the group has worked with the immigrant community, which she called the backbone of the larger community, for several years.

The July 10 raid was the worst one in years, Mughal said. Members of the Latino community were afraid to go to work, to go to the store and to pick up their children at camp in reaction to the ICE raid.

“The people of Princeton want to make it clear that ICE is not welcome in this town,” she said. “We will not tolerate fearmongering.”

Charlene Walker, who is the executive director of Faith in New Jersey, said Princeton made the decision to become a welcoming community, where immigrant neighbors can hold their heads high, she said. They know they are welcome in the town.

The ICE raid was intended to shatter what it meant to be part of the community and what it meant to be part of Princeton, Walker said. It was meant to instill fear and terror in the immigrant community, “but you (ICE) will not scare us,” she said.

Walker told the elected officials that they are being called on to adopt policies and systems to protect the people they are charged with caring for – and “if not, guess what. You don’t need to be here.”

The mayor also spoke to the attendees. His remarks were translated into Spanish by Princeton Councilwoman Leticia Fraga, who is fluent in Spanish.

Freda sought to dispel impressions that the Princeton Police Department was involved in the raid. It did not participate in the raid and had no role in the raid, he said.

“I want to make sure the message from us is clear,” he said. “We are a welcoming town and we welcome everyone to our community.”

The Princeton Police Department does not, has not and will not assist ICE, Freda said. It has not had any involvement with ICE since 2013 – years before the State Attorney General set out guidelines for municipal police involvement with ICE.

Freda said the immigrant community can trust the Princeton Police Department. The town’s Human Services Department and the Health Department provide services to everyone and will not report anyone to ICE.

Freda also told the attendees that he, police Capt. Christopher Tash and Administrator Bernard Hvozdovic Jr. spoke to ICE officials in the Newark office on July 12. They made it clear that municipal officials will monitor ICE’s actions in Princeton.

Newlin asked attendees when did they have a problem with disrespect from the Princeton Police Department, only a couple of people raised their hands.

“The point is, do not make us the enemy,” he said. “We want no harm to come to you. We want to protect you.

“We are not part of the federal government. ICE is its own entity.

“The message here is not to work against us. We need you to work with us so we can solve the problems together. We are going to search hard and find the answers to the questions you are asking,” Newlin said.

A spokesman for the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) division of ICE confirmed the raid that sought three individuals for removal, according to published reports on Planet Princeton.

One of the targeted individuals was taken into custody by agents, while another arrest was blocked by persons who interfered with the process, published reports said.

The ERO manages all aspects of the immigration enforcement process, including the identification, arrest, detention and removal of noncitizens who are subject to removal or are unlawfully present in the United States, according to its website at www.ice/gov/about-ice/ero.

The ERO division of ICE seeks to protect the United States by removing those who would undermine the safety of communities and the integrity of immigration laws, the ICE website said.

Nevertheless, ICE’s actions have left the Princeton community deeply troubled, Princeton Mayor Mark Freda and Princeton Council said in a statement. The federal actions, which were conducted without prior notice or explanation, contradict the town’s core values of respect and dignity for all, officials said.

The ICE agents operate under federal jurisdiction, which supersedes the Princeton Police Department’s authority, Princeton officials said, which means the Princeton Police Department cannot interfere with ICE’s activities.

“However, we are actively reaching out to the ICE field office to determine what transpired,” Freda and the Princeton Council said in the statement. “We want to emphasize that our police department was not involved in the arrests, nor provided any assistance.”

Princeton officials added that the town’s immigrant community is both welcome and valued.

U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, who represents the 12th Congressional District, also weighed in on the raid.

Watson Coleman, who is a Democrat, said she was horrified to learn of the ICE raids by agents who drove into Princeton and did not identify themselves as ICE agents. They stopped Hispanic and Latino residents at random to interrogate them and demand documentation, she said.

“This kind of conduct has absolutely no place in our community or our country,” Watson Coleman said in a statement. “I am working to get more information from federal agencies involved in order to fully understand what occurred.

“Let me say this as clearly as I can – we value our immigrant communities. We welcome immigrants. We are a nation of immigrants. Any actions of intimidation are unacceptable and despicable, and we will get to the bottom of it.”