BrownWatch

View Original

Men taken from Witherspoon Street apartment building by immigration agents.

Several illegal immigrants living in Princeton Borough were rounded up during a dawn raid Wednesday by federal immigration agents. About eight or nine adult males were taken from a Witherspoon Street apartment building, according to one woman, also an illegal resident, who said her adult son was one of those taken into custody. The woman requested anonymity and spoke to The Packet through a translator. Ryan Stark Lilienthal, a borough resident and immigration attorney, said many of the people detained have children who are U.S. citizens. The raid was conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is now part of the Department of Homeland Security, said Princeton Borough Police Chief Charles Davall. Borough police officers were on the scene "in case something happened," but did not enter the house or make any arrests, the chief said. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency district office in New Jersey did not return calls from The Packet seeking comment. On Tuesday, the immigration officials informed the Police Department about the pending raid, the chief said. The federal agency includes a national fugitive operations program that travels the country apprehending illegal aliens who are subjects of deportation warrants, Chief Davall said. [more ]