MORRISTOWN — A federal immigration enforcement action along Speedwell Avenue and Henry Street on Sunday, Jan. 11 led to the detention of multiple people and, according to the Department of Homeland Security, ultimately resulted in 11 arrests. In the days that followed, a federal judge ordered the release of one of those detainees, Morristown High School student Juan Daniel Mendoza, after finding his arrest unlawful. The identities and case details of the other detainees, however, have not been publicly released in full.
Witnesses and local reporting described federal agents arriving in black SUVs and detaining people near Henry Street and Speedwell Avenue, including outside Willmar’s Laundromat, at about 10:15 a.m. Initial reports and statements from local officials suggested a smaller number of detentions, with early estimates putting the total at at least seven people. By Thursday, Jan. 15, DHS said the operation had resulted in 11 arrests in Morristown.
Mendoza, identified in multiple reports as a Morristown High School senior, was among those detained during the Jan. 11 operation. Early reporting differed on his age, with some outlets reporting he was 17 and others reporting he was 18, though the most recent cited report said he was 18. On Thursday, Jan. 15, U.S. District Judge Evelyn Padin ordered Mendoza released from the Elizabeth detention facility by 5 p.m., finding that he had been “unlawfully detained in violation of his due process rights.” He returned to his family the next day. The judge also barred federal authorities from arresting or detaining him again without first showing that he posed either a flight risk or a danger to the public.
According to earlier reporting cited in the source material, Mendoza’s family said he is from Honduras, entered the United States alone as a child, enrolled at Morristown High School in 2024, and had an upcoming hearing where he planned to seek Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, a federal classification available to some young people under 21 who meet specific legal requirements.
DHS later described the Morristown operation in broad terms but did not publicly release names, individual arrest rationales, or detailed case records for the 11 detainees. In a Jan. 15 statement, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said ICE had arrested 11 people during what she called “routine immigration enforcement actions” and said those taken into custody were either already in removal proceedings or in the process of being removed. She also claimed that several of those arrested had felony offenses, though the agency did not provide case-by-case documentation in the statements cited by local outlets.
One of the most troubling accounts to emerge after the operation involved a 6-year-old child who, according to NJ.com, was found outside crying after her father, Adonay Mancia Rodríguez, was detained while picking up food. DHS did not confirm Rodríguez’s specific charges or whereabouts in its public statement. A GoFundMe was later created to help him return to his family, according to the source material.
The operation quickly rippled through Morristown’s schools and civic life. At a Morris School District Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Anne Mucci acknowledged “fear, confusion, and distress” among some students and families. A parent also presented a petition urging emergency steps and clearer communication about safety and support services. In the days after the detentions, residents and advocates held public rallies and protests, calling for greater transparency and more support for impacted families.
Morristown Mayor Tim Dougherty said he had not been given advance notice of the operation and expressed concern about its impact on local residents. He also urged immigration attorneys to help detainees pro bono, saying families likely lacked the resources to pay for legal representation. In his statement, Dougherty said the town stands with immigrant residents and would continue to advocate for dignity, fairness, and respect for everyone in the community.
For families trying to locate someone believed to be in ICE custody, the source material notes that ICE maintains an Online Detainee Locator System and that detention facilities typically provide detainee-information phone lines. Local legal aid and immigrant-rights organizations also offer know-your-rights guidance and referrals to immigration counsel.
Even after Mendoza’s release and DHS’s confirmation that 11 people were arrested, several major questions remain unresolved for Morristown residents. The public still does not have a full accounting of who the other detainees are, the specific legal grounds for each detention, where they are being held, whether any have received bond hearings or release orders, and what immigration records or pending court matters may have been involved in each case. For Morristown, the Jan. 11 sweep has become more than a one-day enforcement action. It has become a test of how quickly federal immigration operations can reshape daily life in a diverse community, and how schools, town leaders, and families respond when the need for clarity, rights information, and support becomes immediate.
Learn more about How We Can Fix ICE and The Argument to Abolish ICE at TheMinuteman.org.