New Jersey Launches Portal for Residents to Document ICE Operations

New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill announced plans to launch a digital portal allowing residents to upload photos and videos of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conducting operations in the state. The Democratic governor unveiled the initiative during an appearance on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show.

“If you see an ICE agent in the street, get your phone out, we want to know,” Sherrill stated during the program. She criticized federal immigration authorities for their lack of transparency during operations, claiming, “They will pick people up, they will not tell us who they are, they will not tell us if they’re here legally, they won’t check.”

Sherrill pointed to concerning incidents, including allegations that ICE agents have detained American citizens and, in one case, a five-year-old child. “We want documentation, and we are going to make sure we get it,” she emphasized.

The governor’s spokesperson, Sean Higgins, indicated that further details about the portal would be released soon. “Keeping New Jerseyans safe is Governor Sherrill’s top priority and, in the coming days, she and Acting Attorney General Davenport will announce additional actions to protect New Jerseyans from federal overreach,” Higgins said in a statement.

New Jersey’s initiative follows similar efforts in other Democrat-led states. New York Attorney General Letitia James launched a comparable portal in October, stating that officials would review submitted materials to determine whether immigration agents violated state laws during enforcement actions. California authorities established a similar reporting system last month.

These state-level actions come amid heightened tensions following two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis this month. Both incidents were recorded by bystanders and have sparked unrest across the country.

On January 7, ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. Days later, Border Patrol agents fatally shot Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse who was reportedly recording immigration enforcement operations in the same city. According to witness accounts and video evidence, Pretti appeared to be attempting to assist a woman who had been knocked down by agents when he was sprayed with an irritant, pushed to the ground, and beaten. Witnesses reported that an agent removed Pretti’s lawfully owned firearm from his waistband before other agents fired multiple shots, resulting in his death.

The incidents have intensified calls for greater accountability among immigration enforcement agencies. During her Daily Show appearance, Sherrill drew comparisons between ICE operations and tactics she observed in other countries during her service in the Navy.

“We saw people in the street with masks and no insignia. So not accountable at all, hiding from the population – and we saw again and again an undermining of what law enforcement should do to keep people safe,” the governor remarked.

The portal is part of a broader push by Sherrill’s administration to educate New Jersey residents about their rights when encountering immigration enforcement. At the federal level, Democratic lawmakers have been advocating for legislation that would prohibit immigration agents from wearing masks to conceal their identities, arguing such measures are necessary for transparency and accountability.

Community organizations in various parts of the country have also been monitoring and reporting ICE activity to warn potentially vulnerable residents about enforcement operations in their areas.

As immigration enforcement remains a deeply divisive political issue, state-level initiatives like New Jersey’s portal reflect growing tensions between Democratic-led states and federal immigration authorities under the current administration.