The federal Department of Homeland Security on Thursday identified three individuals arrested in Morristown earlier this week, in what the department described as a targeted ICE enforcement operation.
DHS also blamed a “distracted” motorist for striking the open door of a vehicle during that operation, which an eyewitness said occurred Tuesday morning on Speedwell Avenue in front of a busload of screaming schoolchildren.
Noe Izara Rivera, Marco Vinicio Remache-Damian and Cesar Armando Chilotillo are the latest detainees from a series of Morristown sweeps that have shaken Hispanic neighborhoods and sparked protests since January.
Where the three are being held was not disclosed. Izara Rivera and Remache-Damian will be afforded due process during deportation proceedings, DHS stated, while Chilotillo simply “will remain in ICE custody pending removal from the United States.”
“Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S,” DHS said.
Izara Rivera was described by DHS as Guatemala native who fled ICE officers and attempted to elude arrest. “His criminal history includes a conviction for disorderly conduct. He illegally entered the United States at unknown time and location.”
Remache-Damian, a native of Ecuador, also attempted to elude arrest by ICE officers, according to DHS. The U.S. Border Patrol arrested him on Aug. 18, 2021, after he illegally entered the United States near Eagle Pass, Texas, the department stated.
“He was subsequently released into the country by the Biden administration,” the DHS said. “To be clear: a pending application does NOT confer legal status in the United States.”
DHS said Chilotillo “illegally re-entered the country—a felony—at an unknown date and location after he was deported on June 6, 2008. His criminal history also includes assault by auto or vessel and hindering one’s own apprehension or prosecution – giving false information.”
The department reiterated the Trump administration’s offer of $3,000 and a free flight to those who self-deport via the U.S. Customs and Border Protection app.
“We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right legal way to live the American dream. If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return,” the statement said.
A local priest said he saw a vehicle hit a door flung open by an ICE vehicle outside the Morristown Jewish Center, and heard screaming by children on a school bus who saw arrests unfolding. A passing Morris County Sheriff’s Officer was waved down by an ICE agent at 8:27 a.m. for assistance with the traffic incident, according to Sheriff James Gannon.
DHS said ICE officers were conducting a vehicle stop “when another vehicle drove by and struck the driver-side door, causing damage. The driver of the vehicle appeared distracted and failed to avoid hitting the door. The Morristown Police Department responded to the scene. ICE officers were not injured.”
DHS referred questions about that incident to Morristown police. Morristown Green has reached out to them and awaits their response.
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