— A 47-year-old man was taken into custody during an unannounced federal immigration operation this morning, and the lack of communication has upset local police, who are trying to improve relations with the immigrant community.
A team of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested Jose Ramirez, 47, at a residence at 120 Witherspoon St. on a deportation warrant, Princeton police Captain Nick Sutter said. The warrant came after Ramirez allegedly failed to appear in court in 2009 for a deportation hearing, Sutter said.
Sutter said police first heard about the incident after Ramirez’s housemate called police around 7 a.m. expressing concern for Ramirez’s well-being after three or four males with badges, who Sutter said he assumed were plainclothes officers, came to the house, removed Ramirez and left in a gray SUV and a black car.
ICE officers did not notify local police prior to the operation, a courtesy usually extended to the department, Sutter said. He added that ICE claimed the lack of notification was due to an oversight.
“We’ve always been notified in the past by any agency, federal or otherwise, conducting operations in our community,” Sutter said. “It’s what I would consider a common law enforcement safety practice.”
A request for information about the incident from ICE was not returned by deadline.
Sutter said Princeton officers were dispatched to the house and began calling law enforcement agencies who could have been conducting operations. Police wanted to rule out any possible criminal incident as quickly as possible, Sutter said. About an hour later Princeton police contacted ICE and learned of the fugitive operation, and relayed that information to Ramirez’s housemate, he said.
The unannounced operation highlights concerns raised by officials and local activists who have said in the past the town’s immigrant community does not trust its police force, fearing immigration enforcement.
“I don’t want to get involved in a political debate,” Sutter said, “but from a local law enforcement perspective, it doesn’t help us in our efforts and in our outreach to the Hispanic community.
“We’re trying to prove that we’re not involved in these types of operations,” he said.
People who see these immigration enforcement operations are often confused by the agency responsible, and think it is the local police, Sutter said.
“Obviously it’s not,” he said.
This is not the first ICE operation in Princeton that’s raised concerns.
In October 2004, ICE agents corralled eight allegedly illegal Hispanic immigrants during a pre-dawn raid of a home on Witherspoon Street in the former Princeton Borough. Princeton police were notified of that operation hours before it happened and were on scene to assist affected families, Sutter said.
He said he has no idea why they weren’t contacted this time around.
Recently a town council subcommittee began work on a plan to clearly signal the town’s opposition to federal immigration policies and laws by declaring Princeton a “sanctuary city” and continuing a long-standing policy of barring police enforcement of such laws.
Becoming a “sanctuary city” would provide clarity on the role of the police and make an important policy statement to reassure the community of the town’s role. Local police do not enforce federal immigration laws and policies and conduct raids like ICE does.
Councilwoman Heather Howard, who serves on the council’s public safety committee, and is one of the major forces behind the “sanctuary city” proclamation said today that ICE’s operation and lack of notification was “very frustrating”.
“It undermines the relationship with the police and the local community,” she said.
The relationship between the town’s police department and its growing Hispanic population has long been a concern for town officials. That concern was increased after a recently conducted community survey by the police department yielded zero responses from Spanish speakers.
Princeton’s Hispanic population has grown steadily in recent years, from about 6 percent in 2000 to 8.5 percent now, according to combined Census data for the former Princeton Township and Borough, which merged in January.
Contact Jon Offredo at joffredo@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5680.
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