A New Jersey Transit crew member has been suspended without pay for reportedly announcing that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials were on a Monday morning train looking for “illegals and other criminals.”
Hey @GovMurphy why are there ICE Agents on my @NJTRANSIT train this morning "looking for illegals"? Does this train to go NYC or 1930's Berlin? @ACLUNJ @CoryBooker @FrankPallone @SenatorMenendez @ACLU
— rory katharine (@TelltaleShart) March 5, 2018
New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez responded to reports of the incident on social media, saying that “if true, this would be outrageous racial profiling that is unAmerican and makes us less safe. Thank you Katherine for bringing this to our attention, and I assure you my office is looking into it, and will follow up as well.”
If true, this would be outrageous racial profiling that is unAmerican and makes us less safe. Thank you Katherine for bringing this to our attention, and I assure you my office is looking into it, and will follow up as well. https://t.co/bduvDFptRU
— Senator Bob Menendez (@SenatorMenendez) March 5, 2018
It turned out, the whole thing was a nothing-burger, though the employee’s motives remain unknown.
A spokesman for the Newark, New Jersey office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement said no agents were on the New York-bound train in question, or any other train on Monday morning. The statement was also confirmed by the NJ Transit Twitter account.
Hi Joe. To clarify, there was no ICE operation. -ER
— NJ TRANSIT (@NJTRANSIT) March 5, 2018
“NJ TRANSIT has taken swift action by immediately suspending, without pay, the crew member who made the alleged train announcement pending the outcome of full investigation. NJT will not tolerate such reprehensible conduct which stands in direct contrast with our agency’s culture,” the transit system announced in a tweet on Monday afternoon.
NJ TRANSIT has taken swift action by immediately suspending, without pay, the crew member who made the alleged train announcement pending the outcome of full investigation. NJT will not tolerate such reprehensible conduct which stands in direct contrast with our agency’s culture.
— NJ TRANSIT (@NJTRANSIT) March 5, 2018
According to the New Jersey ICE spokesman, agents would have had to have been in pursuit of such a person to board public transportation.