En route to a recent vacation to New England, I stopped in my old hometown of Princeton, New Jersey, for coffee and picked up a copy of the Town Topics, the local paper where I found my first car and my first job back in the ’80s.

The front-page story was about an attempt on July 10 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations agents to arrest two illegal immigrants from Guatemala. Both men were high risks for hurting someone in future and any sane community would welcome their removal from the streets.

The ICE report was as follows: “ERO arrests twice-removed noncitizen in Princeton while second absconds due to civilian interference.” (Now steeped in Biden-era woke language, ICE calls such men “unlawfully present noncitizens.” Conflating this with another euphemism, I have coined the acronym UNJIP—“Undocumented Noncitizen Justice Involved Person”—for use henceforth. You saw it on the BorderLine first).

One of the Guatemalans, 29, had been deported from the U.S. twice already when he was charged with assault and robbery—in Princeton, so presumably his victims were locals.

What about their safety and their rights? Not surprisingly, the guy didn’t show up for his hearing at municipal court, which issued a warrant for his arrest. So, when ICE picked him up, he not only had entered the U.S. illegally three times (twice after being deported, which is a crime), but he was wanted for a violent crime.

ICE agents spotted the second Guatemalan, a 27-year-old who had been convicted of drunken driving in 2023. But in running after him, they “were blocked by people whose stated goal was to stop the arrest.”

ICE said that the “unfortunate and unacceptable interference from outside actors not only created a dangerous situation for the public and our officers, but also impeded ERO Newark from the performance of our duties.”

ICE is hardly going rogue under the anti-enforcement Biden administration. In its own words, “ERO uses targeted, intelligence-driven leads to prioritize enforcement actions against the most egregious noncitizen criminals who pose the greatest threat to national security, public safety and border security.” They are practically begging to be allowed to do their jobs.

But Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., said, “I was horrified to learn of the ICE raid carried out in Princeton today,” claiming that ICE agents “stopped Hispanic/Latinx residents seemingly at random to interrogate them and demand documentation.”

Coleman said, “This kind of conduct has no place in our community or our country.” Presumably by “this conduct,” she means enforcement of our nation’s laws?

Meanwhile, Princeton Mayor Mark Freda wrote that “ICE activities in Princeton have left out community deeply troubled. We believe that such federal actions, conducted without prior explanation, starkly contradict our core values of respect and dignity for all.”

Really? What about respect for this pair’s next victims? As for “prior explanation,” if ICE had tipped off a town government that opposes everything they do, what are the chances those two guys would still have been there?

And what “core values” is the mayor talking about? Why is it more important to him that no UNJIP ever be subject to the due process of United States immigration law, than that offenders who put their neighbors at risk should have to answer for their actions?

Every other American citizen and legal immigrant charged with assault or drunken driving has to face the music. Why are illegal immigrants allowed to evade responsibility?

This two-tiered justice in “sanctuary” jurisdictions places the ideology of open borders ahead of both local and national interest. It places the shielding of illegal aliens from lawful arrest and due process over the security of the community.

Freda tried to reassure his voters on this point. “We have no involvement with ICE,” he said. “Our police department does not help them. None of our departments help them.”

Well, why not?

Freda was intent on noting “extensive human services and health department programs to help recent immigrants, whether they are documented or undocumented.” This mayor prizes providing services to people here illegally over ensuring safety for everyone (including other illegal immigrants).

“We have to change our mindset about how we deal with ICE,” said Freda at a town meeting on July 16, hinting that not only would town authorities not cooperate with federal agents, but could hinder them.

It is not surprising that one of the Guatemalans had a drunken driving record, which is a common offense among noncitizens. ICE logged more than 43,000 arrests for DUI offenses from 2018 to 2023. Not all caused fatalities, but drunken driving by illegal aliens kills people regularly.

On July 21, a Honduran 18-year-old drunken driver called Axel Flores-Cordova killed teens Rylan Oncale and Taliyah Crochet in Louisiana. The police didn’t report his status, but Flores-Cordova was seven times over the legal alcohol limit and had no driver’s license, so it’s a fair chance he’s an UNJIP.

In Virginia, another 18-year old Honduran, Elvis Jamir Cruz-Ferrera, was charged with involuntary manslaughter for killing college student Lauryn Ni’Kole Leonard, 19, back in February while driving. He was ordered deported in 2018 but didn’t show up for his court date.

Prior to killing Leonard, Cruz-Ferrera had already been caught once speeding and twice driving without a license.

Leonard would be alive but for Cruz-Ferrera’s illegal presence in the U.S. and continued ability to drive a car in spite of his many offenses.  

It’s not just drunken driving that’s a risk, it’s uninsured, unlicensed, or criminal use of vehicles by people who should not be here at all, let alone in charge of a car.

On July 31, Jose Aguilar-Martinez, an El Salvadoran here illegally, was charged with carjacking a grandmother in Virginia, then running her over and killing her. ICE has put a detainer on him, meaning they want local authorities to tell them when he’s being released so they can arrest him. But many sanctuary jurisdictions ignore such requests and send these offenders back out on to the streets, despite their being clear, preventable dangers to their own citizens.

Prizing the imaginary rights of UNJIPs to remain in the U.S. over the actual rights of Americans to be safe in their own hometowns makes no sense.

I’m saddened, but not surprised, to see Princeton put ideology ahead of public safety, as do so many leftist-run towns, cities, and states. But instead of rushing to coddle and protect illegal immigrants from the due process that would apply to any American, they should help ICE do the hard work of interior enforcement—or at the very least stop vilifying them for doing their jobs.

The BorderLine is a weekly Daily Signal feature examining everything from the unprecedented illegal immigration crisis at the border to immigration’s impact on cities and states throughout the land. We will also shed light on other critical border-related issues such as human trafficking, drug smuggling, terrorism, and more.

Read Other BorderLine Columns:

A Successful US Immigration Policy Would Send Venezuelans Home to Rebuild

Here’s the Chart on Illegal Immigration That Trump Was Talking About When Shot

How Noncitizens Get to Vote in US Elections and How to Stop It

Yes, America Is Exceptional. Happy 4th of July!

Supreme Court Confirms No ‘Right’ for Foreigners to Enter US