On 02/25/2026 around 8:20 to 8:30 a.m., ICE agents during a targeted operation tried to stop a van in Newark. The driver kept driving and ICE agents followed, and the van crashed into other vehicles in the Clinton Hill area. Reporting on the exact crash intersection varies. NJ1015 describes the crash at Clinton Avenue and 10th Street after the van left a stop on Shanley Avenue. CBS and ABC7 describe the crash response at or near Clinton Avenue and Shanley Avenue.
Three children in a rideshare vehicle, two age 15 and one age 12, were taken to University Hospital for evaluation and pain complaints. The van driver was also injured and taken to a hospital, and Newark police were not part of the ICE operation but did respond to the crash.
ICE later said agents were targeting Christian Oswaldo Guevara Guerra, described as an unauthorized immigrant with a prior receiving stolen property charge and a final removal order issued in 2017. DHS and ICE statements reported that the driver rammed law enforcement vehicles during the encounter and that he was taken into ICE custody after the crash.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka publicly condemned the pursuit as reckless, argued ICE should follow local pursuit rules especially during post snowstorm road conditions, and signed an executive order aimed at limiting ICE access to Newark public buildings without a judicial warrant and requiring city workers to document ICE activity they witness. NJ1015 also notes Baraka’s claim about New Jersey pursuit law is disputed, citing state guidance updated in 2022 that allows pursuits in a wider set of circumstances than he described.
