ICE pursuit in Newark leads to crash involving several vehicles: officials

Mayor Ras Baraka blasted ICE for engaging in the pursuit
Wednesday, February 25, 2026
NEWARK, New Jersey (WABC) -- An ICE pursuit resulted in a crash involving several vehicles in Newark, New Jersey on Wednesday, according to Mayor Ras Baraka.

Police responded to Clinton Avenue and Shanley Avenue around 8:20 a.m. for a call of a crash involving two vehicles.

In a statement, the mayor said ICE was conducting an investigation when a van they tried to pull over fled, prompting the pursuit that led to the crash.

Two vehicles, including a rideshare vehicle with two 15-year-olds and a 12-year-old were struck by the van, according to police.

The victims were taken to University Hospital for evaluation of complaints of pain.



"One girl - I don't know exactly her age but I know she was crying hysterically," said witness Shamad Davis. "Both of them was telling like they're head hurting and the little boy, I don't know what happened to his foot, but he was limping the whole time."

The mayor said the male suspect was injured and taken to the hospital.

Davis witnessed the chaos at the scene.

"They (ICE) did wrong too because you can't chase him. You chasing him is the reason why he even said, 'oh i'm going to floor it more,'" Davis said.

Baraka said Newark police were not involved in the investigation and only responded to the crash, and blasted ICE for engaging in the pursuit, saying, "somebody could have been killed in Newark today."



"Federal authorities should adhere to local laws regarding vehicle pursuits and exercise common sense. Based on the damage they are inflicting on our communities, ICE has no business engaging in chases at anytime, anywhere - but especially in densely populated areas, and on roads still being cleared from a significant snowstorm," Baraka said. "ICE cannot come into our city and recklessly put innocent people in harm's way while they try to apprehend their targets. State law prohibits law enforcement from chasing vehicles unless the suspect poses an imminent threat."

Just hours after that mayhem unfolded, Baraka signed an executive order, intended to make it a lot more difficult for federal agents to carry out enforcement operations in the City of Newark.

"ICE cannot come into our public buildings if they are not doing public business without a judicial warrant," he said.

Mayor Baraka's executive order also empowers all city workers to be legal observers of ICE activity, and are mandated to document what they see.

The mayor says the city will attempt to check federal power by encouraging state action against illegal vehicle pursuits.



"We're going to assist in that. We're going to use the police report and the information we have and report it to the governor's office, report it to the attorney general and persuade them to follow suit on this," Baraka said. "That could have easily turned into something disastrous and we'd be having a different discussion here today."

Earlier this month, another suspect fatally struck and killed a Savannah, Georgia-area teacher as he was attempting to flee ICE.

The incidents have drawn further scrutiny of ICE's tactics.



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