Sherrill to launch portal for residents to upload images of ICE operations

State officials will launch an online portal allowing residents to upload imagery of federal immigration agents in New Jersey, Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced Wednesday night.

Sherrill announced the move on the Daily Show, Comedy Central’s nightly comedy news program. On the show, hosted by comedian Desi Lydic, the governor criticized the recent killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by immigration agents in Minneapolis and compared Immigration and Customs Enforcement to secret police.

“If you see an ICE agent in the street, get your phone out, we want to know,” Sherrill said. “They have not been forthcoming. They will pick people up, they will not tell us who they are, they will not tell us if they’re here legally, they won’t check. They’ll pick up American citizens. They picked up a 5-year-old child. We want documentation, and we are going to make sure we get there.”

Sean Higgins, a spokesperson for Sherrill, said the administration will release further details in the coming days.

“Keeping New Jerseyans safe is Governor Sherrill’s top priority and, in the coming days, she and Acting Attorney General Davenport will announce additional actions to protect New Jerseyans from federal overreach,” he said.

New York Attorney General Letitia James launched a similar portal in the Empire State in October. James said state officials would review the videos and images uploaded to the portal to determine whether immigration agents violated the law during their enforcement actions. California opened a portal for residents to report alleged ICE wrongdoing in December.

Some grassroots groups popping up across the country take it further, accepting reports regarding ICE agents and releasing alerts warning people to avoid the area.

During the interview, Sherrill said she had called President Donald Trump about the impending shutdown of Gateway tunnel construction, but had not heard back.