McCaffrey's Employee Taken During Recent Immigration Raid

Candace Braun

Sergio Valdez, a McCaffrey's supermarket employee since 1994, was taken into custody by an undercover Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official at his place of employment last week.

Presumed to be approximately 40 years old, Mr. Valdez was approached by an ICE official at approximately 9 a.m. on Wednesday, January 19, while on his break at the market's Princeton Shopping Center location. After attempting to run, he was captured while still inside the store, and was placed in handcuffs. He was then led out a back door where another ICE agent was waiting.

A relative of Mr. Valdez was reportedly forced to provide information on him to the ICE officials. The undercover officer was using a sketch to identify the store's employee.

Mr. Valdez came to the U.S. from Guatemala approximately 12 years ago, and currently resides in Trenton, according to Maria Juega, a local immigration activist and an organizer of the Latin American Task Force in Princeton. While he has several relatives in the area, he may have a wife and family back in his home country, she added.

The McCaffrey's bakery employee filed for asylum when he first entered the U.S., but his request was denied, said Ms. Juega. She predicted that a deportation order had most likely been issued for Mr. Valdez following the denial.

"It's sad that the federal government is using so many resources to track down people who present no imminent danger to the public," said Borough Mayor Joe O'Neill on Tuesday. In November, Borough Council passed a resolution that asked the government to remove local police involvement from federal immigration raids, and voiced a concern for recent immigration raids which have taken Princeton residents and employees out of the country.

Mr. Valdez was taken to the Elizabeth Detention Center last week, said Ms. Juega. She had no more information on his current whereabouts.

McCaffrey's management declined to comment on the incident.