Newark Mayor Ras Baraka compared ICE to slave catchers
By Josh Christenson
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who evaded federal charges following his arrest May 9 at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in the city, compared federal immigration authorities to slave catchers during a campaign rally last month, video exclusively obtained by The Post shows.
“People are talking about how difficult it is to live in New Jersey. Well, it’s been difficult for us for a long time,” the Democratic gubernatorial hopeful said April 13 in Willingboro, adding that “black folks” have “come from a whole lot of undocumented people.”
“And if they knew you didn’t have your papers, you going back to the plantation,” he said. “They have people chasing, catching you. It wasn’t called ICE then.”
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka compared ICE to slave catchers at an April 13 campaign rally in Willingboro
4
“And if they knew you didn’t have your papers, you going back to the plantation,” Baraka said. “They have people chasing, catching you. It wasn’t called ICE then.”
NY Post
“We believe ICE has been weaponized and used to snatch people off the streets and deport them to what are essentially prison colonies, even as the Supreme Court objects. This administration hasn’t articulated any real immigration policy. In fact, they’ve stripped protective status from over 300,000 Venezuelans, because they assume without evidence that they are all gang members.
In a statement Tuesday, Baraka told The Post that he “didn’t draw the connection to slavery,” but the “Trump administration did when it attacked birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment.”
Exotic dancer 'The Punisher' testifies he was hired for up to 12 'freak-offs' for naked Diddy wearing Islamic face covering
Harvey Weinstein, Jessica Mann
Tense scene at Weinstein trial as alleged perv appears to have medical episode after accuser's defiant gesture
Florida teacher 'had sex with student in classroom' hours before being arrested for illicit 8-month relationship
“Anyone can see there is a clear focus on criminalizing Black and Brown immigrants – not just targeting those accused of crimes, but also people who disagree with them politically,” he said.
“That’s a post–Civil War amendment designed to overturn the Dred Scott decision, which infamously declared that Black people had no rights and were not even recognized as human under the law.”
Baraka was one of several Democratic politicians — including Newark City Councilmember Kenyatta Stewart as well as Garden State Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Rob Menendez and LaMonica McIver — who protested the reopening of the Delaney Hall ICE facility.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested by US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents Friday afternoon, outside of the Delaney Hall ICE detention center hes vowed to shut down, according to social media reports.
4
Acting New Jersey US Attorney Alina Habba added that after “extensive consideration,” she decided to dismiss Baraka’s violations “for the sake of moving forward” and that he would be able “to tour Delaney Hall with her” in the future.
Amanda Lee / News12
While the congresspeople said they were invited inside, the feds said Baraka trespassed and was later “taken into custody.”
Acting New Jersey US Attorney Alina Habba chose not to press charges against the mayor — but slapped McIver with criminal charges for allegedly “assaulting, impeding and interfering with law enforcement” during the fracas.
“I have persistently made efforts to address these issues without bringing criminal charges and have given Representative McIver every opportunity to come to a resolution, but she unfortunately declined,” Habba said Monday. “No one is above the law — politicians or otherwise.”
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested by US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents Friday afternoon, outside of the Delaney Hall ICE detention center heâs vowed to shut down, according to social media reports.
4
At the April rally, the Dem gubernatorial candidate also said that the Constitution’s 14th Amendment was passed so “that everybody benefits from all over the world.”
SamMBlackwood/X
The prosecutor added that after “extensive consideration,” she decided to dismiss Baraka’s violations “for the sake of moving forward” and added that the mayor would be able “to tour Delaney Hall with her” in the future.
Video of the encounter at the ICE center, which Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin described as a “bizarre political stunt,” showed McIver shouting and trying to elbow her way past agents at the security checkpoint.
Baraka, who polls show is lagging well behind front-runner Mikie Sherrill in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, has claimed that Delaney Hall lacks the necessary permits to operate.
At the April rally, Baraka also appeared to criticize the Trump administration’s attempts to overturn birthright citizenship, declaring that the Constitution’s 14th Amendment was passed so “that everybody benefits, from all over the world.”
“In fact, the 14th Amendment exists because you was being chased, because you was undocumented, because your citizenship was in question,” Baraka told supporters.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka ctr. walks surruounded by Newark police officers outside a detention center in Newark, Friday, May 9, 2025 after his release. The mayor was arrested earlier by ICE agents as he protested a migrant detention center in Newark which he was trying to shut down. (Photo by Robert Mecea)
4
Baraka has claimed that the ICE facility lacks necessary permits.
Robert Mecea
“We passed the 14th Amendment that everybody benefits from — all over the world,” he said. “Didn’t know these couple of million ex-slaves would be able to become legislators and help pass the 14th Amendment, ratify it, so that now the whole world can benefit from these naturalized citizens of the United States.”
“This man tries to disrupt that and undermine that and attack that,” he added in reference to Trump, who has argued that the 14th Amendment’s proclamation that “[a]ll persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside” should not apply to children of illegal immigrants and those who practice so-called “birth tourism.”
Baraka said in his statement that citizens and non-citizens are “subject to the laws of this country, like any other.”
“And in this country, those laws are governed by the Constitution of the United States—and where I live, also by the Constitution of the State of New Jersey,” he went on. “The Constitution is crystal clear on due process, and it doesn’t just mention it – it reaffirms it in the 4th, 5th, and 14th Amendments.”
Welcome to Billionaire Club Co LLC, your gateway to a brand-new social media experience! Sign up today and dive into over 10,000 fresh daily articles and videos curated just for your enjoyment. Enjoy the ad free experience, unlimited content interactions, and get that coveted blue check verification—all for just $1 a month!
Account Frozen
Your account is frozen. You can still view content but cannot interact with it.
Please go to your settings to update your account status.
Open Profile Settings