Hudson County’s law department is investigating whether corrections officers interacted with federal immigration agents in connection with the detention of Raul Raagas, a 62-year-old Jersey City resident who spent more than 10 weeks in ICE custody after a routine traffic stop this summer. County officials say interim retraining for corrections staff is already underway while the probe continues.
The investigation centers on whether Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation employees had contact with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during Raagas’s arrest and detention, according to Hudson County View. Accounts of exactly where Raagas was pulled over differ: the outlet’s reporting places the July 24 traffic stop in Palisades Park, while the Philippine Daily Mirror reports he was taken into custody that same day following a traffic stop in Kearny. Raagas, originally from Cebu City, had lived in Jersey City for more than 30 years before ICE detained him.
After the initial traffic stop, Raagas was arrested and transferred to the Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearny on an outstanding child-support warrant, then released the same day following a virtual court hearing. ICE detained him shortly after that release, and he remained in federal custody for more than 10 weeks before being granted bond, per the Philippine Daily Mirror’s account, which described community leaders celebrating the development.
Activist Says Sheriff’s Office Skipped Required ICE Reports
Courtney Walker, an activist, Jersey City resident, and member of Hudson County’s Immigrant Community Safety Committee, has pressed officials on the case. She claimed the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office was not complying with its own policy requiring a report whenever contact is made with ICE, and she said she has asked when investigation results and any potential county cooperation with federal agents would be made public, according to the county’s records on the matter cited by Hudson County View.
Walker filed an Open Public Records Act request with the sheriff’s office seeking records of any reports made to the sheriff regarding ICE contact, but the office responded that there were no responsive documents. County Counsel Alberico De Pierro said no other entities had created reports that could be provided in response to her request, though he noted that reports documenting ICE contacts are considered public records once they exist.
De Pierro, who serves as Hudson County counsel, said the investigation into the matter remains ongoing and that related documentation could become public once it concludes, subject to any confidentiality or litigation limits. He added that officials have tried to answer Walker’s questions as quickly as they can, and that further necessary action is continuing. County employees implicated in the investigation are entitled to appeal any discipline that results.
Retraining Ordered, Corrective Steps Taken This Month
As of an October 8 meeting, Hudson County had taken corrective actions tied to the case, and officials confirmed interim retraining will be provided to corrections officers covering both ICE interactions and the documentation required for county compliance. De Pierro said he can bring non-confidential reports that are not subject to a pending investigation or litigation before the Immigrant Community Safety Committee. Mark Cygan, a Hudson County spokesperson, confirmed that the law department’s investigation into the matter is ongoing.
The scrutiny follows a separate incident at the county courthouse that prompted the sheriff’s office to formally release guidance on how its officers interact with ICE agents. In that case, De Pierro confirmed no enforcement activity was conducted on county property, and he said an active investigation into the incident was underway, with further details to come once it concludes. The policy adopted afterward treats ICE detainers and administrative warrants as civil requests rather than judicial orders, and it calls for annual training for sheriff’s officers on ICE-related matters.
Residents have separately pushed the county for records and transparency following that courthouse incident, with the sheriff’s office saying it was memorialized in an internal memo not subject to OPRA, according to Citizen Portal. The pattern of public-records requests underscores the broader pressure facing county officials over how closely their employees are expected to cooperate, or not cooperate, with federal immigration enforcement.
County Policy Bars ICE From County Property
Hudson County Executive Craig Guy signed Executive Order Number Eight in January 2026, prohibiting collaboration with ICE by county employees and requiring that any ICE-related violations be reported to the sheriff’s office and the involved employee’s department head. The order was part of a broader measure that also barred ICE and Customs and Border Protection from conducting enforcement activities on county-owned property, except when required by law or authorized by a valid judicial warrant, and it prevents county employees and contractors from assisting federal immigration authorities or sharing information with them. The Hudson County commissioners approved a similar resolution backing the order, which was described as virtually identical to one Jersey City Mayor James Solomon signed the week before.
The county-level crackdown on cooperation with federal agents tracks a wider statewide trend. A federal lawsuit challenging similar policies in Newark, Jersey City, Paterson and Hoboken that limit voluntary collaboration with immigration enforcement was dismissed by U.S. District Court Judge Evelyn Padin, according to the New Jersey Consortium for Immigrant Children.
Enforcement Pressure Rising Alongside Local Support Programs
The consortium has also reported that 18- to 21-year-olds who historically were not targets for ICE detention are increasingly being swept up by enforcement, a shift it has tied to a federal budget reconciliation law that allocated more than $74 billion to ICE, accelerating enforcement and deportation efforts nationwide. In response to those pressures, New Jersey’s FY2027 budget includes increased funding for the state’s Legal Representation for Children and Youth Program, the organization says, and it has partnered with Jersey City Public Schools to offer free legal services to high school students through its Beacon program.
Locally, Hudson County has moved to bolster immigrant-support services alongside the ICE scrutiny. The county approved $1.3 million in funds for rental assistance, legal services and food-security programs, a budget amendment pushed by Guy, and its Immigrant Community Safety Committee has already fielded at least 20 referrals for rental assistance and distributed fresh produce to roughly 40 families. Advocates had rallied for $2 million for those same programs. The Hudson County Board of Commissioners also approved a $150,000 contract with the New Jersey Consortium for Immigrant Children, running from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027, to provide legal aid as part of the county’s constituent services.
