JERSEY CITY, NJ – Tomorrow at 4:30PM, Congressmembers Rob Menendez, Bonnie Watson Coleman, and LaMonica McIver will host a virtual legal observer information session with the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice in the face of escalating violence and threats against our communities by the Trump Administration. In the wake of the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by ICE and Border Patrol agents, constituents will be informed on how to safely document the threats that ICE agents and other immigration enforcement agents have posed to our communities while understanding their legal protections and rights as Americans.
“In the last few weeks, we have seen ICE and Border Patrol personnel kill two legal observers who posed no threat to them,” said Congressman Menendez. “We are not going to let the Trump Administration intimidate and scare community members from legally monitoring immigration enforcement agents who are being sent onto our streets to terrorize our neighbors. This session will inform residents of the legal rights they have to document ICE conduct, and the steps they can take to protect themselves from the illegal and reckless tactics of this Administration.”
“I join Governor Walz and leaders around the country in calling for Americans who value their neighbors and their safety to protest the illegal actions of DHS, peacefully but loudly,” said Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman. “Their crimes must be recorded for the day when those who have violated our rights face justice. It's up to us to serve as witnesses now.”
“We have seen people killed by ICE agents for simply documenting their conduct and exposing what ICE wants to keep hidden. One of the ways we hold ICE accountable and protect our communities is by using our right to legally monitor immigration enforcement,” said Congresswoman LaMonica McIver. “Observers need to know their legal rights to document ICE operations so that these horrific abuses do not hide in the dark. This training will bring us a step closer to the oversight and accountability our communities deserve.”
“We can't reform public executions. There is no amount of training or redirection that will fix ICE and CBP. These agencies have had a broken mission from their start. America is ready to turn the page on ICE,” said Amy Torres, Executive Director with New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice. “To get there, we need legal observers who are documenting federal agents' presence and their actions as they attempt to take over our communities and trample our rights. Let us never forget that Renee Good and Alex Pretti were not outsiders nor bystanders -- they were activist volunteers in the movement who had the training and the bravery to be documenters and watchdogs of federal agents and their actions. The people who are committed to justice far outnumber those who seek to destroy it. With tonight's training, we are only adding to those numbers.”
Congressmembers Menendez, Watson Coleman, and McIver are hosting the information session, which will be instructed by the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice. The virtual session will be held tomorrow at 4:30 PM over Zoom. Constituents who would like to join the session can do so here.
Congressman Menendez has been a leader on oversight of ICE. Earlier this month, he participated in a field hearing with over 20 House Democrats in Minneapolis, listening to the testimony of victims of ICE and DHS’s abuses and to the testimony of state and local elected officials. Last year, Menendez, Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), and Congresswoman LaMonica McIver (NJ-10) were conducting legal oversight at the Delaney Hall detention facility when they were confronted by over 20 armed ICE and HSI agents in an incident that gained national attention. Menendez was an original cosponsor of articles of impeachment for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and led efforts to demand that ICE agents identify themselves when conducting enforcement operations.
