Local Immigration Groups Question Vineland Police Over Recent ICE Activities
Covering SJ's Latino community. Questions or story ideas? Contact us at chughes@acjosephmedia.com.
Federal Agents Step Up Enforcement in South Jersey as Activists Document Actions
AC JosepH Media
VINELAND – Local immigration advocacy groups have raised questions about the Vineland Police and U.S. Immigration Correction Enforcement agents, better known as ICE, after two videos circulated during federal activity in the area this month.
New Jersey state lawmakers have established bright lines for local authorities in dealing with ICE activity, codifying “non-cooperation” rules with the agency into law in March. Activists said the videos allegedly showing Vineland Police interacting with ICE agents have raised questions.
“The videos do not, by themselves, establish the full circumstances surrounding the interaction
or whether any formal coordination occurred,” the activists said in a statement last week.
“However, they have prompted questions about the nature and extent of the interaction between Vineland Police and ICE and whether police officers were assisting or collaborating with federal immigration agents while residents attempted to document ICE activity.”
Front Runner New Jersey.com reached out the Vineland Police Department via email to its media inquiries address on Aug. 19 seeking answers about the video and its contact with ICE and has not responded as of Tuesday, Aug. 25.
Marisol Soriano of Los Tequios de Cumberland County, a local immigrant-led community group, said the video has already caused concerns in Vineland’s Hispanic community. Vineland has one of the highest population percentages of Latino residents in the state.
“Since these videos started circulating, I’ve received calls and questions from community
members asking what this means for them,” Soriano said. “People are asking us, ‘Is it
safe for me to talk to the police?
“If I report something, do I have to worry about ICE?’ Those are serious questions, and the fact that people are asking them shows why what happened in these videos matters.”
The New Jersey’s Immigrant Trust Directive was created specifically to prevent that type of fear from taking hold in immigrant communities. The statewide policy limits the voluntary assistance that state and local law enforcement agencies may provide to federal civil immigration authorities and generally prohibits local officers from participating in ICE civil immigration enforcement operations, subject to limited exceptions.
Cristian Moreno-Rodriguez of El Pueblo Unido said the purpose of that separation is essential to public safety.
“Our neighbors need to know that if they’re the victim of a crime, if they witness something, or if they need help, they can call their local police without wondering whether that interaction could somehow bring ICE into their lives.”
“When the public sees local police and ICE appearing to work together, that line becomes blurred and it makes us all more unsafe.”
Activists said that according to witnesses, the incident began after federal immigration agents in unmarked vehicles allegedly confronted a community volunteer who had been documenting their activity. Vineland Police officers subsequently arrived at the scene and were observed speaking with the federal agents.
Video from the encounter appears to show an ICE agent making allegations to Vineland Police
regarding the volunteer who was filming them with his phone. An officer can then be heard
asking, “Where is he?” while apparently attempting to locate the individual identified by the
federal agents.
Later in the video, residents can be heard informing officers about New Jersey’s restrictions on
cooperation between local law enforcement and federal civil immigration enforcement. Additional video appeared to show officers directing warnings and potential enforcement toward members of the public who were documenting the encounter.
Ruth Barreiro of Vineland said she was driving through the area when she noticed the commotion and decided to pull over. She said she witnessed much of the interaction firsthand.
“What I witnessed was deeply concerning,” Barreiro said.
The public has a First Amendment right to record police and other government officials performing their duties in public, although that right does not permit someone to physically
interfere with legitimate law-enforcement activity.
Activists said that observing and documenting government conduct is an important form of public oversight and accountability, which was happening by the public.
“Since these videos started circulating, I’ve received calls and questions from community members asking what this means for them,” Soriano said. “People are asking us, ‘Is it safe for me to talk to the police? If I report something, do I have to worry about ICE?’ Those are serious questions, and the fact that people are asking them shows why what happened in these videos matters.”
Front Runner New Jersey.com continues to seek comment from Vineland Police.
Media Sources. Please note the videos contain explicit language:
? https://www.facebook.com/reel/1731451058072085
? https://www.instagram.com/p/Db94aA-R6ux/
? https://www.instagram.com/p/Db6HyuBoDQq/
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