By Sunayana Prabhu
RED BANK – Ricardo Paz, a landscaper and longtime resident of Red Bank, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers Jan. 6, despite having a pending case in immigration court, his attorney said this week. Paz is being detained in ICE’s Delaney Hall detention center in Newark while awaiting a bond hearing. His arrest has drawn concern from his legal counsel Anne Sedki and others.
“I am receiving constant updates on Ricardo and have been on and off the phone regarding his well-being and another separate case of different residents’ well-being since 8 a.m.,” Deputy Mayor Kate Triggiano said Jan. 14.
Some borough officials have also denounced previous arrests by ICE in the community in recent weeks.
“We were shocked to find out that he was detained last Tuesday, which seems to have been (during) a raid in the Red Bank area,” Sedki said on a call with The Two River Times Jan. 13. Paz was apparently getting coffee when ICE arrested him without due process, she said.
“When they see that a person already has a case pending with the immigration court, there is no reason to waste government resources on detaining somebody. But here we are. This is, in my viewpoint, a very unfair detention, and we are trying to fight for his release,” said Sedki, who has been Paz’s attorney for more than six years.
Paz owns a small landscaping business and is often seen around the borough on his decorated bicycle trailer carrying lawn care tools. He has “a lot of ties to his community,” Sedki said, describing him as a “person of good character.”
“He does have a family. He has a business. He’s contributed significantly to the community. He’s not a risk to society. He’s not a national risk to the country,” she said.
Sedki is currently working to get Paz before a judge for a bond hearing as soon as possible but, she said, “ICE has been reluctant to give me the paperwork that I need and file his paperwork in the proper court.”
The Trump administration has tightened its grip on immigration policies with a nationwide crackdown, but opponents have been protesting ICE’s tactics, particularly after the recent fatal shooting of Minneapolis mother Renee Good during an ICE operation. Good, 37, a U.S. citizen and mother of three, was killed by an ICE agent Jan. 7. The incident, which was caught on video, has since ignited protests.
Sedki explained that while ICE previously focused on detaining immigrants with serious criminal records or those who were considered dangerous, in early 2025, the Department of Homeland Security amended its immigration policy to include the arrest and detention of anyone found to be out of status, regardless of their criminal history or whether they have a pending case in immigration court.
It remains unclear why Paz was targeted for detention, but a nearly 15-year-old municipal court case in which he was embroiled may have raised a red flag, Sedki said. According to Red Bank Police records, Paz was arrested Jan. 17, 2011, on a simple assault charge tied to a family dispute. Sedki said the case was dismissed, so that record should have “no bearing” on his current immigration case.
However, the incident occurred “while he was in the country without status,” Sedki said. “That could have very well been the reason why they went after him, or he could have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. I can’t know for sure until I get the paperwork,” she said.
The ongoing crackdown on illegal immigration in the country must be “within guidelines, within policy that we have always known,” she said. “There are limits to their enforcement; they cannot be excessive, like we have seen in recent days.”
Borough council members have denounced the way ICE raids and subsequent arrests were carried out last week in the borough, which has historically been perceived as a sanctuary town that supports immigrant residents.
During the Jan. 8 borough council meeting, Councilmember Kristina Bonatakis said she was “really disturbed” by the Minneapolis shooting and arrests in Red Bank. “All of those folks taken were important to our community,” she said. “I know people who have previously never witnessed those things with their own eyes were pretty traumatized by the things that they saw right here in Red Bank. I just want to say that I hope that we never normalize that. This is not normal.”
Councilmember Nancy Blackwood supported protections for immigrants, noting that Triggiano was in Trenton Jan. 8, casting a ceremonial vote on behalf of state Sen. Vin Gopal (D-11) for the Immigration Trust Directive (S5038), which strengthens protections for immigrants in the state. According to Gopal’s office, “it is common for Senators to ask constituents to place a ceremonial vote for them and it happens regularly.”
Two immigration bills were passed by both houses of the Legislature Jan. 12 and have been sent to Gov. Phil Murphy for his signature.
“Anyone wishing to help Ricardo and others in our community impacted by detention and deportation can donate to American Friends Service Committee’s Red Bank Office,” Triggiano said. “They are helping not only Ricardo, but many others whose stories are not public.”
The article originally appeared in the January 15 – 21, 2026 print edition of The Two River Times.
