ICE Agent And Suspect Struck By Hit-And-Run Driver In Jersey City: Officials

JERSEY CITY, NJ — At least one Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, and a suspect he was pursuing, were hit by a car in Jersey City on Wednesday, officials said.

Laura Bustamante, the chief of staff to Mayor James Solomon, told Patch late on Thursday, "Yesterday, ICE agents pursuing an individual on foot in Jersey City were involved in a hit-and-run in which both an agent and the person being chased were struck by a vehicle and sustained minor injuries."

A local non-profit that chronicles ICE arrests in Hudson County reported that ICE agents and a person they were pursuing had come into the Emergency Room of Jersey City Medical Center on Wednesday. The post said that the pursued man had been struck by a car.

Patch has reached out to ICE for more details and will update this story when they're received.

Bustamante stressed that local police were not involved in the pursuit or arrest on Wednesday.

"The Jersey City Police Department responded only to complete the accident report," she said. "Our officers provided no assistance to ICE with this arrest or detention because operations like this by ICE this put residents and bystanders at risk and create far more problems in our city than they solve."

Solomon and other local officials have been critical of ICE enforcement in Hudson County this year.

RELATED: Jersey City Pulls Funds From Citizens Bank Over Delaney Hall

Last month, Solomon posted a video saying, "ICE says they're going after criminals, but the evidence says otherwise."

A recent New York Times study showed that most detainees at Delaney Hall in Newark don't have criminal records.

"We're going to fight back with everything we have," Solomon said.

The local activist group, Spirit of Liberation in Jersey City, has said, "We will not stand for the continued abduction of our neighbors and remain steadfast in our efforts to resist this crisis. ... We will always have the chance to win if we work together."

Related: Hoboken Bartender Freed From ICE Custody, Friends Say

In July, a group 0f New Jersey lawmakers sent a letter to the federal government about the three deaths at Delaney Hall in Newark, where immigrants are being held, this year.

On Feb. 1, ICE agents detained 10 people in Jersey City, causing controversy.

At least one arrest was made at the Light Rail elevator from Jersey City to Hoboken, an incident videotaped by Jersey City Councilman Jake Ephros, in which an agent told him, "We don't need a warrant, bro."

The comment famously drew a response from Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who said, ""We still follow the Constitution here in New Jersey, bro."

PRIOR REPORTING: Rise In ICE Arrests Addressed By Jersey City Mayor