ICE suffers major fail in NJ capital city as neighborhood and officials block arrests

🚨 ICE agents came to the Chambersburg section of Trenton early Thursday

🚨 Police arrived and said they were present to protect all on scene

🚨 Mayor Reed Gusciora said police followed the state's Immigrant Trust Directive

TRENTON — It was a major fail for ice in the capital city, a day after immigration authorities carried out one of the largest raids at a workplace elsewhere in the state.

ICE agents arrived on Bayard Street in the Chambersburg section on Thursday morning around 7 a.m., according to Trenton Police Director Steve Wilson.

Mayor Reed Gusciora said that a standoff developed when Trenton police were called by a neighborhood watch group.

Gusciora said city officers set up a perimeter to protect the safety of all in the area but did not assist ICE and followed the state’s Immigrant Trust Directive.

“That means [Trenton Police Department] does not question people about immigration status, does not enforce civil immigration law and does not assist ICE in carrying out raids simply because someone may be undocumented, “ Gusciora, a Democrat, said.

U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J. 12th District, said the ICE agents did not provide a warrant and refused to give their badge numbers when asked. She credited the actions of residents, clergy and community leaders for forcing agents to leave without making any arrests.

"ICE should be focused on getting violent criminals off the streets, not hard-working people just trying to make a better life for their families and live the American dream," Watson Coleman said on X.

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 29 taken into custody at Edison warehouse

A day earlier in Edison, ICE agents made 29 arrests at a warehouse for Smart Logistics and Freight Solutions, also known as Freight Smart.  The New York Times said the raid appears to be one of the largest federal raids during President Donald Trump's second term in office.

In a statement to Univision, Customs and Border Protection said they were conducting a "surprise inspection" to "verify compliance with customs, employment, and safety regulations to protect the supply chain, American commerce, and public safety."

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