A week after federal agents arrested three men during a law-enforcement operation at a Trenton auto-repair business, family members, clergy, and immigrant-rights advocates gathered at St. Bartholomew Lutheran Church in Trenton to demand answers — and to share the human toll of the arrests.
At the center of Friday’s press conference was the story of a young family now separated after the Feb. 20 operation, in which U.S. Marshals arrested Eduardo Reyes on outstanding criminal warrants and took two additional men into federal custody.
Standing at the church podium, Jennifer Lopez, representing Agudo’s Repair Shop, described what she said happened inside the business that morning.
“One minute Christian was unlocking the doors of the shop, prepping for another honest day of work,” she said. “The next he was pinned against shelves of oils and chemicals.”
Lopez said security cameras were covered by the officers during the encounter. Footage released by immigrant’s rights organization Resistencia en Acción NJ shows boxes in front of the cameras during the arrest.
“And I have to ask, what did these officers not want us to see?” she said.
She told reporters that one of the detained workers had no criminal record and that families were now facing separation and uncertainty.
“Families are being torn apart,” Lopez said. “No child should come home to find their parents have disappeared.”
A mother speaks of loss
After Lopez spoke, organizers invited Andrea, Christian’s wife, to the podium. Holding her young daughter Genesis, she spoke in Spanish while an organizer read her written statement in English.
“I am here today as a wife and as a mother,” the translation began. “Like a woman who they have taken out her heart and ripped it apart.”
Andrea described her husband, Christian, as the primary provider for their household.
“He is the one who pays all the bills. He’s the one who makes sure that there’s no food missing on the table,” the statement said. “Our daughter looks for her father every day and I don’t have a response.”
Her voice breaking, Andrea questioned why he had been detained.
“He didn’t do anything wrong, so why was he taken?”
The statement ended with a broader appeal.
“Behind every detention, there’s a family, there’s a story and there’s a daughter who is crying for her father.”
Arrest tied to criminal warrant
According to a Feb. 25 Trenton Police Department press release, Reyes was arrested the morning of Feb. 20 near South Olden Avenue by the U.S. Marshals NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force, with assistance from Trenton police.
Authorities said Reyes was wanted on charges including aggravated assault by auto, leaving the scene of a crash that seriously injured a pedestrian in November 2025, and endangering an injured victim. He was also wanted for failing to appear on a separate aggravated-assault case from 2023.
Police said their involvement was limited to the criminal apprehension and emphasized the department “did not request, direct, or participate in any immigration enforcement action,” citing New Jersey’s Immigrant Trust Directive.
They added that any additional detentions were conducted independently by federal authorities.
Advocates question conduct and coordination
Speakers at Friday’s press conference disputed aspects of the operation and called for a public review.
One organizer said video from the scene showed force being used during an arrest and cameras being covered.
“This is not de-escalation. This is an excessive use of power and force,” Ana Paola Pazmiño, Executive Director of Resistencia en Acción NJ, said. “It remains unclear whether ICE was physically present during the raid or whether local law enforcement transferred these men afterwards.”
Advocates urged Trenton officials to clarify the extent of coordination between local and federal agencies.
“We’re calling on local officials to conduct a full and transparent review of what has occurred,” Pazmiño said. “Families have been destroyed, businesses have been impacted, and communities must now pick up the pieces.”
Church offers solidarity
The Rev. Erich Kussman of St. Bartholomew Lutheran Church, which hosted the gathering, told families they had the congregation’s support.
“We will stand with you,” he said. “Anything you need, you can come to us.”
Charlene D. Walker, executive director of Faith in New Jersey, thanked families for speaking publicly despite their grief.
“You chose in this moment to stand in the light and help us all tell the truth about what is happening in our community,” Walker said. “We see you and we’re grieving with you, and we are standing with you.”
State debate expands
The Trenton arrests occurred as state leaders weighed a separate immigration-detention issue.
Also Friday, Gov. Mikie Sherrill sent a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem opposing a federal plan to convert a 470,000-square-foot warehouse in Roxbury into an ICE detention facility capable of holding up to 1,500 people.
In the letter, Sherrill cited what she described as DHS’s lack of transparency with local officials and warned the facility could strain infrastructure, harm the environment, and create public-safety risks. She also raised concerns about documented conditions in existing detention centers and pledged New Jersey would “use every tool at our disposal” if federal authorities proceed without complying with applicable laws.
Calls for clarity
At St. Bartholomew, advocates said the Feb. 20 operation has intensified fear and uncertainty among immigrant families in Trenton.
“We demand transparency. We demand accountability,” said Pazmiño. “Families have been destroyed, businesses have been impacted, and communities must now pick up the pieces.”
Federal agencies have not publicly released details about the custody status of the two additional men detained during the operation.
For families gathered at the church, that lack of information remains the central concern.
