against the Trump administration's ICE raids and use of the military in Los Angeles have become a flash point for immigration unrest not just on the West Coast but across the country and here in New Jersey too On Wednesday immigrant rights groups rallied in Princeton to protest ramped up ICE activity and show support for everyone who's taken to the streets in LA It comes as tensions continue to flare up in LA California Democratic Senator Alex Padilla today was forcibly removed from a Homeland Security press conference after he interrupted and shouted questions to Secretary Gnome And as the Justice Department issued a memo to prosecutors across the country providing them with a list of federal charges they can bring against protesters they determine to be rioting Raven Santana reports protest ICE Nearly 100 people from various immigration rights organizations gathered outside the Princeton Public Library chanting and demanding that ICE stay out of communities like Princeton where we want to let everybody know that um there's nonviolent actions that have been happening since ICE has been present in our communities and our streets roaming Home Depot roaming schools roaming um neighborhoods at knocking on doors Anna Paola Pazimo is the executive director of Resencia and Axion an organization based in Princeton and Trenton that serves approximately 200 members Many of them say their communities are now living in fear as ICE raids intensify nationwide This marks the latest escalation by the Trump administration which has significantly increased arrest of undocumented immigrants Last month White House immigration policy architect Steven Miller told Fox News's Sean Hannity that ICE is ramping up daily arrest a significant increase from previous levels Under President Trump's leadership we are looking to set a goal of a minimum of 3,000 arrests for ICE every day Advocates say the rally also aimed to show solidarity with the people of Los Angeles who took to the streets over the weekend in protest of ICE raids While those demonstrations were largely peaceful the LAPD arresting close to 150 protesters President Trump ordered thousands of National Guard troops and hundreds of Marines deployed to the city despite objections from local leaders and creating a historic power struggle and spreading fear that similar federal actions could happen in communities around the country so personal for me but also for our community You know um this false narrative that we have been fed that they're coming from murderers and rapists and etc etc has not been true Uh just in my community in the south ward of Trenton I've seen seven to nineyear-olds zip tied by ICE officers I've seen uh brown pe people with brown skin put against walls just to search for IDs I I've seen mothers locked up grandmothers get locked up They're not doing what they're saying It seems to me it's a very racist attack on on people that come from south of our border Advocates warned the ramped up ICE activity is making people scared to live their lives making immigrants less likely to seek government services or to assist local police investigations They are urging state lawmakers to pass the Immigrant Trust Act which would create new privacy protections around immigration status and limit cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities We are trying to push a legislation It's called the Immigrant Trust Act And the immigrant trust act is um not not going through in many cities like Princeton because of a resolution that should be passed by the council And so if we are not being supportive in policy then we're not being able to support immigrants regardless of what is already in place And advocates I spoke with here say the level of concern amongst immigrants here in Princeton is at an all-time high I know a pretty handful of people that are currently detained or have been deported or have um you know that they have uh court hearings and stuff and they're scared to go to their court hearings because now they're taking people at their after the court hearings after like you know like dismissing a case and then ICE is waiting for them right outside the room and taking them and that's it's you know that's scaring everybody even though Just like I said Los Angeles is a sanctuary state and look what happened That could honestly happen anywhere It doesn't matter where I feel like it could happen anywhere This is a pivotal moment because this the federal overreach over state Um coming from I was at the protest at the Lanny Hall with Mayor Raz Baraka and I seen how they they treat city and state officials I've seen how they treat the Newark police officers So unless we want the military to police our streets we need to step up We reached out to ICE for a statement The agency deferred us to the White House which did not respond to a request for comment Meanwhile advocacy groups say they are now preparing for No King's Day protest A nationwide mass mobilization against President Trump set to take place this weekend including dozens of events here in New Jersey For NJ Spotlight News I'm Raven Santana