Maplewood NJ, Township Committee Declares ICE 'Not Welcome' Following Minneapolis Shooting

The Maplewood Township Committee has taken a firm stance against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities within the community, declaring, "We do not welcome ICE in Maplewood."

 

This declaration comes in response to the recent fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and mother of three, by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. The incident has ignited a national debate over immigration enforcement practices.

 

In a joint statement, Mayor Victor De Luca, Deputy Mayor Malia Herman, and committee members Nancy Adams, Dean Dafis, and Jane Collins-Colding expressed their condolences to Good's family and called for a full, independent, and transparent investigation into the shooting. They emphasized that accountability is essential to justice.

 

The committee criticized the Trump Administration's militarized immigration raids, stating that such actions are destabilizing communities and spreading fear nationwide. They asserted that sending masked agents into neighborhoods does not enhance safety and that no one in America should live under siege.

 

Reaffirming Maplewood's commitment to its immigrant residents, the statement highlighted the township's 2017 resolution promoting equal, respectful, and dignified treatment of all individuals, regardless of immigration status. This resolution prohibits township employees from reporting individuals based on their immigration status and restricts the use of township resources to enforce federal immigration laws unless mandated by courts or the state.

 

The Maplewood Police Department adheres to New Jersey Attorney General guidelines, which prohibit local police from stopping, questioning, arresting, searching, or detaining individuals solely based on their actual or suspected immigration status. Additionally, officers are not to ask about immigration status unless it is necessary and relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation, enforce warrants not signed by a judge, or participate in ICE's civil immigration enforcement operations.

 

In April 2025, the Township Committee unanimously adopted a resolution supporting the New Jersey Immigrant Trust Act and urged the state legislature and governor to act promptly on this matter.

 

Federal authorities, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, have defended the actions of the ICE agent involved in Good's shooting, alleging that Good attempted to hit the agent with her vehicle before being shot. Noem described the incident as an "act of domestic terrorism."

 

Maplewood officials have made it clear that they will not stand idly by while constitutional protections erode. They encourage residents to speak out and peacefully exercise their democratic rights, choosing compassion over cruelty, truth over fear, and dignity over division.