Newark mayor criticizes ICE raid at seafood distributor

Emily Bloch, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Jan 24, 2025

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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided a seafood distributor in Newark, N.J., detaining three workers, including a military veteran, sparking fear in the food industry and drawing ire from city officials.

It comes amid President Donald Trump’s vow to crack down on immigration, which has sent shockwaves throughout communities where immigrants play an essential role. Newark’s mayor called the move “egregious” in a statement.

The raid at Ocean Seafood Depot — a family-owned restaurant supplier founded in 1998 — took place on Thursday, with agents detaining the distributor’s warehouse manager, a Puerto Rican man (Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens), and a military veteran, co-owner Luis Janota told New York’s PIX11 News.

Janota said 10 to 12 ICE agents entered the business after having received a complaint and sought workers’ documentation. He said the agents appeared to target Hispanic workers, and didn’t question employees who appeared white.

The raid comes on the heels of an executive order Trump signed on his first day in office, allowing federal immigration authorities to conduct arrests within sensitive locations, including churches, hospitals, or schools.

On social media channels throughout the Northeast, restaurant workers urged their peers to know their rights when it comes to ICE raids, including the right to remain silent, and refuse search.

Industry experts say mass raids and deportations within the food service industry could lead to labor shortages that impact restaurants’ ability to survive.

“I feel like we have to be a country of law, but we have to go after bad people, not working people,” Janota said. “These are family people. These are people who show up to work every day.”

In Newark, Mayor Ras Baraka issued a statement condemning the raid, including how ICE treated the military veteran who was detained. Janota said the three workers were taken into custody, and some received a court date to appear before a judge, but did not elaborate. Additional details were not available.

“[The veteran] suffered the indignity of having the legitimacy of his military documentation questioned,” Baraka said, adding that the raid was “in plain violation of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees ‘the right of the people be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures’”

ICE said in a statement that agents can request identification to establish someone’s identity, but declined to comment further citing an ongoing investigation.

The agency said on X that it has arrested more than 530 people as of Thursday and detained more than 370, but did not provide a timeframe for those numbers. ICE did not detail where raids have taken place, but news outlets have reported raids across states including New Jersey, New York, and Maryland. NBC reported that officials said a focus on major metropolitan cities was likely.

“Newark will not stand by idly while people are being unlawfully terrorized,” Baraka said in his statement.