Rep. Watson Coleman Issues Statement After Unconstitutional ICE Raid in Newark Sweeps Up Innocent Veteran

Washington, D.C. (Thursday, January 23, 2025) —  Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) issued the following statement after reports surfaced of an ICE raid in Newark, during which lawful U.S. citizens were detained without warrant, including a U.S. Military veteran.

“Warrantless searches, jackbooted thugs, veterans detained. After pardoning violent insurrectionists, Trump orders ICE agents to detain and harass innocent people, including a veteran who served our country. This is the reality of Trump’s reign of terror, but it’s not the America generations have fought for. 

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a citizen who served our country in uniform, you too can be stopped without a warning or a warrant and shaken down for your papers. You too can be detained indefinitely and without cause. You too can be rounded up and whisked away. 

“The Constitution is not just a piece of paper. It’s a binding contract that guarantees the conditions under which we are all entitled to live. There is nobody in this country who should be subjected to a warrantless search. No federal agent has the authority to stop and harass any passerby without cause. 

“This is a disgrace. This is what we expect from two-bit dictators in banana republics. I condemn in the strongest possible terms this disgusting and callous disregard for the laws of New Jersey, the rights of our residents, and the Constitution of the United States.”