Crew member lied: ICE isn't hunting 'illegals' on NJ Transit

NEWARK — New Jersey Transit has suspended a crew member for allegedly announcing on a morning train that immigration agents were on board looking for "illegals."

The incident occurred Monday morning on a train headed to New York. NBC New York's Brian Thompson tweeted the train was coming from Bay Head, making it the North Jersey Coastline train.

A spokeswoman for NJ Transit didn't identify the employee but said he would be suspended without pay pending an investigation.

In a tweet, NJ Transit called the alleged conduct "offensive, inappropriate and unprofessional."

A spokesman for the Newark, New Jersey office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement said no agents were on the train Monday.

He said agents conduct targeted enforcement of criminals, and would have had to have been in pursuit of such a person to board public transportation.

A user on Twitter described hearing the initial announcement on the train, before NJ Transit released its statement:

"Definitely preferable to agents actually being on the train, but still disgusting to make people fear for their safety or that they're going to be snatched off their morning train," Rory Katherine continued.

Crew member lied: ICE isn’t hunting ‘illegals’ on NJ Transit