Thursday, the eve of the weekend. A typical day for students heading to school. There was no delayed opening, but for many, the school day was disrupted and chaotic, hindering learning. Children screaming, parents alerting their neighbors. A fear-stricken community in Lindenwold, NJ, was targeted by ICE Agents while parents were at the bus stop with their kids.
On February 12th, 2026, ICE agents targeted the bus stop at Woodland Village Apartments for 4th and 5th-graders. The bus driver circulates around the complex, rescuing kids from the dangers posed by Trump’s masked secret police.
On Friday, Camden County Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli Jr. issued a statement regarding the incident.
“The absolute chaos sowed by this ICE operation in Lindenwold yesterday morning was appalling,” Cappelli Jr. wrote. “At the moment we are short on facts and details about the intentions of ICE and do know at some point they called 911 for support. That said, the impact and fear that struck the children of our county was painful to watch and I can’t imagine the anxiety and trauma that came from this incident. We have a dialogue with our Congressman who is helping us get answers to what happened yesterday. I also want to applaud the work of the Superintendent of the Lindenwold Schools whose staff jumped into action to identify the whereabouts of the students and ensure their safety. Furthermore, as a community, segments of our population are being terrorized and scared to leave their homes. This is no way for any of us to live.”
As you can see, students are running, and community members are shouting “ICE, ICE” to alert neighbors to the dangers outside their doors. For many in this community, they fear that when leaving their homes, they may not come back to their families. With nearly 30% of the community in Lindenwold, NJ, being Latino or Hispanic, a large portion of the community is actively being targeted and labelled as “Illegal”.
The following day, Cooper River Indivisible organized a protest that drew hundreds of people from the broader community and gained the attention of elected officials like Donald Norcross.
Sharon Schultz, a left-leaning progressive from South Jersey, attended the protest. Sharon grew up primarily in Detroit and emigrated to New Jersey when she was fourteen. She had attended a protest with her mother for pro-life causes in high school, but this was her first time at an anti-ICE action.
When Sharon was asked how the atmosphere was at the protest, she shared,
“Super positive! Lindenwold police were on site, supportive in general. People were energized, lots of Bad Bunny. People driving by were very engaged, lots of positive, but also a good amount of negative, thumbs down, middle fingers and such.”
Like Sharon, many others are looking to get involved, and Sharon learned about the protest through an Instagram post and confirmed its legitimacy with Cooper River Indivisible. She was looking for ways to get involved and stand up against Trump’s policies, but kept hearing about events after they had happened. She caught this one in time and showed up to support her community.
Many members of the community cheered for justice, and the main driver of organizing was the strength of Cooper River Indivisible's individuals.
At the protest, organizers from Cooper River Indivisible interviewed organizer Tatiana, who had these powerful statements.