School students in the Lindenwold, New Jersey area ran to safety when ICE agents were spotted nearby. The fourth and fifth graders felt unsafe after learning about ICE agents’ presence. They were scared of getting detained and confused about what to do next. The only thing they could do was run and hide, ensuring they were safe from Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Elementary school students were seen running on the sidewalks and across parking lots in surveillance footage. According to Lindenwold School District officials, the ICE agents were present near the Woodland Village Apartments on Gibbsboro Road.
The students were waiting at a bus stop to be picked up by a school bus. Both students and parents were terrified by the situation, not expecting a normal morning to turn into a nightmare.
if you’re in lindenwold nj or surrounding areas please be safe, especially if you have children that ride the school bus. ice agents were chasing kids at the coachman apartments after they got off the bus stop. they’re kidnappers & a threat to our hispanic communities. ABOLISH ICE pic.twitter.com/MAB6X2Xhjg
— tiffy (@sangyeonify) February 12, 2026
Viki Pearson, who lives in the same area, told reporters, “The kids were very frightened. I’m absolutely furious that this is going on in this area, in any area, especially where kids are involved.” Another resident said, “I was literally terrified. I was crying like I was about to throw up, too.”
The students who were already on the bus were terrified, too. The school monitor described the students’ fear and reaction. She said, “They were just huddled up like with their hands over their heads, like crying underneath the seats.”
She tried her best to console the kids, and the school bus driver circled around the area to locate the kids who had run away. An 11-year-old Valerie Pacheco-Nunez described the scary experience, “We were in panic. I was crying. My friend was too, so we were all screaming. I don’t want people to have their parents taken away, and I don’t want mine taken away.” Another student said they were traumatized by the incident.
This is Liam Conejo Ramos.
This is the 5 year old child ICE grabbed in Minnesota today.
They used him as bait to get his father.
They’ve sent this toddler to detention instead of letting him stay with family.
A masked man grabbed a toddler off the street in broad daylight. pic.twitter.com/uTwj7WpKCj
— Kelly (@broadwaybabyto) January 22, 2026
Lindenwold Schools Superintendent, Dr. Kristin O’Neil, also released a statement appreciating the bus driver’s response in helping the students get to school safely. Moreover, the school will be more cautious during the school drop-off and pick-up time, providing counseling services. They will be monitoring the morning arrival and afternoon dismissal closely after this incident.
There have been several instances of ICE agents tackling kids and detaining them. In Liam Conejo Ramos’ case, ICE even used him as bait to get to other members of the family after detaining his father. The five-year-old boy was detained when he was on his way home from preschool.
School drop-offs and even hospitals have become a spot for the agents to tackle down kids. According to the Marshall Project analysis, over a thousand kids were detained for more than twenty days, which is the maximum time for minors according to the court orders.
