Federal agents arrested a man who was traveling in a work van on Bridge Avenue on the morning of November 1, 2025. (Reader submitted photo. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
Over the past three weekends, federal law enforcement agents have arrested several people in Red Bank, including at least one confirmed immigration-related arrest, officials and eyewitnesses say, with authorities releasing scant details that might indicate the nature of the operations or the number of people detained.
Federal immigration agents have long periodically conducted local operations targeting specific individuals who they say are eligible for deportation due to criminal convictions.
But the frequency of their presence over the past month and the arrest of at least one person with a still-pending DWI charge indicate the Trump administration’s stepped-up enforcement efforts are being felt in the borough at a level not seen since the start of Trump’s second term in January.
“We do not have any more details on the operations, but the increase in activity tracks with what’s happening everywhere in the state,” said Itzel Perez-Hernandez, immigrant rights organizer with American Friends Service Committee’s Red Bank office.
On November 1, three eyewitnesses told redbankgreen that federal agents, including one in a shirt labelled “FBI,” arrested a man as he exited his work van on Bridge Avenue.
Photos taken by a bystander show people in vests and an unmarked car with police flashers in the rear window holding a man with his hands behind his back. Another witness who also shot and shared video of the incident with redbankgreen said they had seen three people arrested.
A screengrab from a Tik Tok video post on November 9.
A week later, on November 9, a video posted to Tik Tok showed vested agents driving unmarked cars with police flashers stopping a man on a bicycle on Shrewsbury Avenue near the intersection with Locust Avenue. The video is blurry and the person who posted it did not respond to messages.
But the owner and an employee of a nearby business, both of whom were working at the time of the arrest, told redbankgreen the agents wore vests that read FBI. They described the agents as arresting the man on the bicycle but were not sure if anyone else was nabbed.
It is unclear whether the FBI agents are conducting an investigation into criminal activities or part of the Trump administration’s beefed up immigration dragnets.
While the FBI has long focused solely on federal law enforcement matters such as terrorism, organized crime and white collar crime, national news outlets report that nearly a quarter of all FBI agents have been shifted to assist with immigration enforcement, with some major offices seeing up to 45% of their agents reassigned.
Emails and phone calls to the US Attorney’s Office in Newark seeking information on the FBI operations were not returned. The office long had a robust and responsive public information office that would return reporters’ queries promptly, but veteran reporters covering New Jersey say the media affairs officer role appears unfilled and phone calls and emails regularly go unreturned.
Federal officials did confirm the arrest of a suspect this past Sunday, November 16, on Oakland Street by agents with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
In a video of the arrest posted to social media by a bystander (see screen grab below) the man arrested identified himself as Jaime Palacios. The video shows agents with vests reading ‘DEA’ and “Police” arresting him and putting him in an unmarked car. National news reports indicated offices with the US Drug Enforcement Administration have also been reassigned to assist in the immigration dragnets.
In an email in response to questions from redbankgreen, an ICE spokesperson confirmed the arrest of Jaime Palacios Rivera, whom they described as “an illegal alien from Mexico” with pending charge for driving while intoxicated.
Red Bank Police Department reports indicate the 34-year-old was arrested on August 24 on Oakland Street for driving while intoxicated.
Municipal court records show he was also charged with reckless driving, with both charges still pending.
The ICE spokesman declined to release information about the November 1 or November 9 arrests observed and photographed by eyewitnesses.
With regards to Palacios’ arrest, the ICE spokesperson stated, “Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Noem, ICE remains committed to enforcing federal immigration law and upholding the integrity of our nation’s legal immigration system. ICE will continue to identify, arrest, and remove individuals who violate U.S. immigration law and individuals who try to circumvent our nation’s legal paths to residency.”
Red Bank Police Chief Mike Frazee said the department was not notified and did not participate in any of the operations.
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331.
Do you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen? Please become a financial supporter if you haven’t already. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.
