In response to recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in Atlantic City, Mayor Marty Small, Sr. has issued the following statement:
“The Great City of Atlantic City proudly supports our immigrant community. We are a diverse, multicultural city, and this administration has been more active and engaged with our immigrant residents than any previous administration. We recognize that ICE is a federal agency with a responsibility to carry out its duties, and we expect those duties to be performed strictly within the letter of the law and with full respect for immigrant rights. We have all seen disturbing footage from other parts of the country, and I deeply empathize with the fear and uncertainty many in our immigrant community may be experiencing. As mayor, I want you to know that the City of Atlantic City has your back one million percent.
I also fully support the men and women of the Atlantic City Police Department, whose mission is to protect and serve all our residents. While federal law supersedes municipal law and our police cannot interfere with ICE operations, they will respond to any call in which someone feels unsafe. That is their duty and their responsibility. We do not support illegal activity of any kind, and I want to be clear that I am not accusing anyone of wrongdoing. Nothing like what we have seen elsewhere in the country is happening in Atlantic City, and we are committed to ensuring it stays that way.
We will continue to stand firmly with our immigrant community while respecting federal authority, and we call on the federal government to ensure that any ICE activity in Atlantic City is conducted lawfully and with full respect. Atlantic City is a city for everyone.”
Mayor Small was joined by Atlantic City Public Safety Director Sean Riggin, Atlantic City Chief of Police James Sarkos, City Council Vice President Kaleem Shabazz, El Pueblo Unido Executive Director Christian Moreno, and Jonathan Diego, a member of the Board of Directors at Atlantic City’s Spanish Community Center.
