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Nonprofit urges city collaboration after reported ICE activity near school; organizers outline community defense and festival plans
Summary
A local nonprofit director told council that federal immigration enforcement activity occurred near a Pleasantville school and asked for city collaboration on community defense, legal clinics and rapid response; the speaker also updated council on a planned Mexican Independence Day festival.
A representative from a local nonprofit told the Pleasantville City Council on June 16 that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were present in the city last week, including near a school on Washington Avenue, and urged municipal officials to coordinate a local response.
Moreno Christian, who identified himself as director of a nonprofit organization working on immigrant-rights rapid response and community defense, said the group has security-camera footage showing federal agents on Avenue Lane behind Washington and that the presence produced fear and confusion in the immigrant community. Christian said he had no reason to believe the Pleasantville Police Department was collaborating with federal agents but requested a broader community conversation involving faith leaders, police, the mayor’s office and nonprofits to clarify local protocols and reassure residents.
Christian said the nonprofit already operates rapid response efforts, a 24/7 hotline and a community center in Atlantic City; he said the organization will run a power‑of‑attorney legal clinic (family emergency preparedness) and know‑your‑rights trainings, and that it has increased staffing and capacity with grant funds. He invited council members and city staff to ride along with rapid‑response teams and to participate in culturally accessible trainings and volunteer sessions.
Christian also updated council about a planned Mexican Independence Day festival scheduled for Sept. 13; he said last year’s event drew about 1,000 attendees and included more than 20 nonprofit resource tables.
Ending: Christian asked the city to help convene a community conversation and to allow the nonprofit to use municipal space for clinics and trainings; he also requested that the administration check its email filters because the nonprofit had trouble delivering messages to city email addresses.
