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Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D) reflected on Friday on his arrest outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility earlier that day and believes he was targeted after visiting New Jersey detention centers with three members of Congress Democratic Party.
“Nothing happened for a long time,” Baraka said in an appearance on Friday night in MSNBC’s “Brief” “. So it looks targeted. ”
He later added that the ice officers were “apparently targeting me.”
“I’m not the only one. They came straight to me and tried to arrest me…no one else. I.” “So, honestly, I know, I’m a target.”
Baraka, who is running for the upcoming governor competition in New Jersey, has made multiple appearances on major networks after being released from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) field office.
New Jersey interim prosecutor Alina Habba defended the government’s move, claiming that the mayor “had committed a trespass and ignored multiple warnings from the homeland security investigation to remove the post.”
“He is willing to choose to ignore the law,” Habba wrote in an article on social platform X.
Baraka defended his presence at the facility, saying he did not protest but was to attend a press conference with the Garden State Congressional delegation, including Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D), Rob Menendez, Rob Menendez (D) and Lamonica McIver (D). Watson Coleman said the three were there to check the facilities instead of visiting the site.
Court documents show federal officials and lawmakers come back and forth and eventually arrest the mayor, who later appeared before U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Espinosa.
The Department of Homeland Security accused a group of protesters, along with Menendez and Watson Coleman, storming into the “gate” and breaking into the “detention center.”
“The break-in of members of Congress into detention facilities exceeds a strange political stunt and puts the safety of our law enforcement and detainees at risk. Congressional members are not above the law and cannot break into detention illegally,” said Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Director of the National Health Agency, on Friday. “If these members ask for a trip, we will promote tours of the facility. This is an evolving situation.”
Watson Coleman accused DHS of spreading false information about Friday’s incident.
“This melee happened after we entered the venue in Delaney Hall, after we entered the venue in Delaney Hall. We entered the facility, came back to talk to the mayor, and then the ice shop started pushing us.”
“This is not the way we get into the facility. We are accompanied by guards because we have legal oversight to be there,” the New Jersey Democrat added.
During his detention, Baraka said that Department of Homeland Security officials were “very affectionate and respectful” to him.
He told MSNBC: “So, I have no choice but to respect those guys.
The mayor opposes President Trump’s immigration crackdown and protests the opening of ice facilities, believing that proper permits were not obtained in the process.
ICE signed a multi-year contract with Geo Group Inc. to operate the detention center. Baraka sued the security company last month, accusing the company of not “giving city officials access to city ordinances and state regulations requiring inspections”, thus violating state and city laws.
The Department of Homeland Security strongly opposed his allegations.
“The allegations that Newark politicians have not had proper permits against Delaney are wrong,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a press release on Friday. “We have a valid license and have inspected pipelines and electricity and cleared fire regulations.”
The Trump administration said the detention centers have violent immigrants who illegally reside in the country, including those accused of being affiliated with the MS-13 gang and those with an Interpol Red Notice.