Teaneck to 'protect' residents from ICE
Resolution meant for all, regardless of status
By: Marsha A. Stoltz
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
TEANECK - In response to the increased local presence of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, the Township council unanimously passed a 10-point resolution vowing to protect all residents, no mater their immigration status.
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The township is committed to "equal, respectful and dignified treatment of all people, regardless of their immigration status," reads the resolution passed on February 10 [2026] and sponsored by Deputy Mayor Denise Belcher and council members Michael Pagan, Danielle Gee and Hillary Goldberg.
..... Pagan, who served as the township's first Latino mayor from 2023 to 2025, called for "any ordinance that will help keep ICE out of Teaneck," At the January 27 [2026] meeting, Pagan said the township's 80 ethnicities make the township "the melting pot of Bergen County."
..... His comments were made after reports about the activity and presence of ICE officers in the township.
..... Teaneck Deputy Chief of Police Seth Kriegel said his department had some interaction with ICE agents in the area of Teaneck Road and Garden Street on January 24 [2026] at 8:11 AM.
..... "Teaneck police officers responded tot eh area and made contact with the individuals, who were confirmed to be ICE agents," Kriegel said in an emailed statement at the time. "After confirming their identity, Teaneck officers cleared the scene and ICE agents continued their operation independently."
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The three-page resolution stops short pf an outright ban on federal offices: instead, it takes a series of guidelines that township officials "should" follow rather than "must" or "shall."
..... As stated in the preamble, the intention of the resolution is to "clarify the relationship between the township and the federal government regarding enforcement of federal immigration laws."
..... Citing its 26.6% foreign-born population, the resolution says the township has "long embraced and welcomed individuals of diverse racial, ethnic, religious and national backgrounds." Their goal is "fostering a relationship of trust, respect, and open communication between Township officials and residents," which they consider "essential to delivering effective public services: and "critical to promoting public safety."
..... In offering the resolution, Pagan and "some people has said that this resolution is not needed because ICE is a national issue, but I respectfully disagree, because ICE agents have been in Teaneck just last week [02/04/2026] on Palisade Avenue, in Hackensack, in Englewood, in Lodi, in Garfield, Ridgefield, Palisades Park, Cliffside Park, Fairview and other nearby towns across Bergen County,
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The resolution includes the following 10 points:
1. Condolences to the loved ones of "Renee Nicole Good, Alex Jeffrey Pretti, Keith Porter Jr. as well as people who have died in ICE detention facilities.
2. It condemns the sue of excessive or "unjustified force" in civil immigration enforcement and "oppresses tactics that terrorize or destabilize communities."
3. No municipal employee or officials "should condition the provision of township services or benefits on matters related to citizenship or immigration status, unless required to do so by statue, federal regulation or court decision."
4. No municipal employee or official "should take part in the registration or reporting of individuals base don religion, race, ethnicity, national origin or immigration status."
5. Lola police are to enforce state and local criminal laws and "protect the community," and not "federal civil immigration laws. the federal government is the authority responsible for enforcement of civil immigration laws."
6. Police "should not initiate investigations, inquires or actions regarding any individual's immigration tutus for the sole and singular purpose of conducting enforcement of federal civil immigration laws."
7. Police "should adhere to the directives and guidelines of the New Jersey Attorney General and the Bergen County Prosecutor with respect to the manner in which local law enforcement agencies interact with federal immigration authorities."
8. No township funds or resources should be used "to enforce federal civil immigration laws unless required by federal or state statute, regulation, court decision, or directives and guidelines of the New Jersey Attorney General."
9. The resolution should not be seen as in conflict with any obligation imposed by federal law or state law and all applicable regulations and directives of the state's attorney general and the Bergen County prosecutor.
10. It guides township officials to monitor whether the federal government withholds funds as a result of the township's policy.
..... "These ICE agents continue to terrorize our communities, rip apart our families and jeopardize public safety with their dangerous secret police force tactics," Pagan said. "There comes a time when you have to draw a line in the sand and take a stand, especially when people are being killed and detained on the streets of America without warrants and without due process."