By Greg Forester, Staff Writer
PLAINSBORO — A group of 11 Mexican nationals have been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials after Plainsboro police discovered the group packed into a Ford Escape traveling on Route 1 on Sunday morning.
Plainsboro Police Officer Jason Mariano stopped the sport utility vehicle for improper tinting of all its windows, which is illegal in New Jersey, before discovering the car’s tightly squeezed human cargo.
Inside, police found 10 men and a single woman who were believed to have been traveling in the vehicle since crossing the Mexico-Arizona border three days earlier, Plainsboro police said. A 19-year-old male, Isahin Lopez Gomez, was driving the vehicle, which was suspected to be heading to New York City.
Immigration officers were contacted because of the sheer number of people in the vehicle, which amounted to twice as many people as seat belts.
”That’s quite unusual,” said Plainsboro Lt. Richard Ferda, who noted both the number of passengers and the fact that the car had California license plates.
Normally federal immigration authorities are only contacted when local or state police investigate an indictable crime, or a drunken driving incident, where the immigration status of a suspect is in question.
But in the case of the 11 suspected undocumented workers, the police decided to contact federal authorities.
All 11 people riding in the vehicle have been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and taken to a detention facility in Elizabeth, where they will await a hearing after being charged with immigration offenses, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Mike Gilhooley.
Plainsboro Township police had only reported about five immigration offenses as of last month, according to police, who have mainly reported incidents to federal authorities because of drunken driving incidents.
Police in New Jersey have been specifically instructed by New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram’s office to only investigate immigration status of suspects in drunken driving cases or cases that could be an indictable offense.
Cases where an unwarranted immigration check into the status of a witness or other person occurs have resulted in prosecution against law enforcement officials, according to the Office of the Attorney General.
The names of the passengers were Claudia Cruz Degante, 22; Ruben Velasquez, 33; Marcos Corzo Gomes, 19; Cesar Bazquez Jordan, 19; Santiago Diaz, 34; Placido Vasquez Pacheco, 24; Ancellmo Martines, 28; Leonardo Lopez, 21; Jose Hernandez, 21; and Wagner Solis Escobedo, 19.
All but New York state resident Mr. Velasquez were listed as residents of Mexico.
