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

January 23, 2025 Rep. Watson Coleman Issues Statement After Unconstitutional ICE Raid in Newark Sweeps Up Innocent Veteran 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.” Print Email Share Tweet