NJEA officers have issued a statement following the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. The incident occurred outside a private ICE facility in Newark.
In their statement, NJEA President Sean Spiller, Vice President Steve Beatty, and Secretary-Treasurer Petal Robertson expressed strong disapproval of the arrest. They stated: “The politically motivated arrest of Mayor Baraka is an outrage. The weaponization of ICE to arrest an elected official lawfully protesting should anger us all."
They emphasized that this issue transcends politics and affects communities directly: "This goes far beyond politics. This is about the people: our students, their families everyone in our communities who all have a right to live lives free of fear and intimidation."
The NJEA leaders also voiced their support for justice and opposition to actions they consider unconstitutional by the Trump administration. They said: "As educators and advocates for justice, we stand in solidarity against the unconstitutional attacks of the Trump administration on immigrants, citizens, judges, elected officials and anyone brave enough to stand up to their lies and attacks on our democracy. They are determined to divide us. We will not give in.”
