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O’Dea Meets With Family Detained by HSI, Provides Legal Assistance
Hudson County Commissioner and Jersey City mayoral candidate Bill O’Dea met with the family of a man detained by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) during a traffic stop near St. Paul’s Avenue and Concord Street on Thursday morning. O’Dea was joined by Tom Zuppa, a local attorney and council candidate in Ward C.
“Tom Zuppa and I met with the family on Concord Street and we are assisting them in securing legal representation in this matter,” O’Dea said in a statement. “As an elected official who stood up against Hudson County’s ICE detention contract because we are a community of immigrants, I firmly believe that we cannot betray our moral values on this important issue.”
A spokesperson for O’Dea added, “That’s the type of person Bill is. When he sees a problem he just wants to help.”
Zuppa, a former prosecutor and leader of the Journal Square Community Association. Through his nonprofit, the Tom Zuppa Civic Association, he provides pro bono legal services and housing assistance to vulnerable residents.
The HSI operation, which took place near Christ Hospital, drew public outcry. A video submitted to HudPost shows neighbors shouting “shame, shame, shame” as agents detained the family. A local resident, Shawn, said, “It looks like they took the lady’s husband. They put the woman and her son in the car and escorted her away.”
Councilmembers James Solomon and Yousef J. Saleh also condemned the incident. “Watching Trump’s deportation force traumatize a child while detaining her father this morning in our city was heartbreaking and enraging,” Solomon said. Saleh added, “At the same time these federal officers are terrorizing families on the way to school, they are using the DOJ to retaliate against our fair and welcoming sanctuary policies that have existed for nearly a decade.”
HudPost has reached out to HSI for comment.
