Residents press Hudson County for policies after videos show armed agents at Braddock Park

Several residents and local advocates pressed Hudson County commissioners on Aug. 14 to adopt clearer policies for responding when Immigration and Customs Enforcement or armed agents appear on county property and to provide direct support for families affected by detentions.

Courtney Walker, a Jersey City resident, told the board that video from Braddock Park showed six armed, partially masked individuals in a park parking lot and that when a sheriff's deputy arrived he questioned the person filming instead of the group. Walker urged the county to adopt clear response policies and to consider a resolution supporting the Immigrant Trust Act (speaker cited Senate bill number during public comment). "Public spaces should not be used in this way," Walker said, urging equitable early-voting site distribution and stronger county protections for immigrant residents.

Mark Bloomberg, a public commenter, said North Bergen had withdrawn a DEP application related to Braddock Park and asked the county to ensure trailers are removed and the land restored for recreation or conservation. "The county needs to declare itself as a sanctuary county," Bloomberg said, arguing the county must be proactive in protecting residents.

Stephanie Campos, a Jersey City resident, described community videos showing armed masked agents staged at Braddock Park and alleged a Hudson County Sheriff's Department officer prevented filming and allowed agents to photograph the community member. Campos asked commissioners to convene a town hall with the sheriff, to publish county policies for encountering ICE or anyone claiming to be ICE on county property, and to consider an emergency fund and a resource navigator position to aid families affected by detentions.

At the start of the meeting the chief of staff to the county executive (speaker introduced by the clerk as the chief of staff) said the county executive's office learned via social media that armed individuals were on county property over the weekend and that the executive's office had not been notified. The chief of staff asked the sheriff's office to notify the county executive immediately if a similar incident occurs and reminded commissioners of the immigrant trust directive’s limitations on local participation in federal civil immigration enforcement.

Separately, a commissioner provided a draft ordinance to create an Office of Hudson County Corrections and Rehabilitation Ombudsman and asked that it be distributed to fellow commissioners and referred to the public safety committee for review. The commissioner cited recent in-custody deaths and said the proposal was prepared in coordination with the public defender's office.

What happens next: Commissioners agreed to place some items on the public safety committee agenda and to invite relevant staff and the superintendent of elections to the next meeting for follow-up on early voting placement. The clerk and staff were asked to coordinate a possible town hall and to share nonprofit contact information with commissioners for outreach and services.