North Bergen leaders say they are concerned about reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity outside of local schools.

Officials with the town issued a statement after they said videos were posted on social media showing a confrontation between federal agents and city residents outside of a school Monday morning.

“The ongoing presence of masked ICE agents in our community is continuing to cause widespread fear and outrage among North Bergen residents,” Mayor Nick Sacco wrote in a statement. “While our local government has extremely limited authority regarding federal law enforcement actions, we want residents to know that we share their concerns and are monitoring the situation closely.”

Officials say that the North Bergen School District is investigating the incident.

“We want parents and all residents to know that we are taking this issue seriously and will pursue every legal avenue available to protect our students, including denying federal agents access to school buildings without a judicial warrant or other lawful authority,” stated North Bergen Parks and Public Property Commissioner Hugo Cabrera.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security wrote in part, “On October 19, during a targeted operation in North Bergen, New Jersey resulting in the arrest of nine illegal aliens with criminal histories including assault and abuse of a child, ICE briefly spoke with an adult male, NOT a child. ICE does NOT target children or schools. Every day, DHS is conducting law enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe."