ICE said Wednesday it is looking to deport a Canadian woman who was charged this week with slapping a teenage girl wearing clothing with “pro-Trump memorabilia” along the Jersey Shore.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed it has custody of Kaitlyn Tracey, 33, after she was linked to the random assault on the Point Pleasant boardwalk.
“Kaitlyn Tracey is a criminal illegal alien from Canada who was charged with simple assault, neglect of a child, compounding crime, and harassing communication,” a DHS spokesperson told The Washington Times.
“She was arrested by the Point Pleasant Beach Police Department, who facilitated a controlled transfer into ICE custody, where she will remain pending her immigration proceedings,” the department said.
Point Pleasant Beach police said the July 6 incident started with a woman “yelling at the female juvenile over patriotic colored sweatpants with political wording.”
“The female suspect was then seen on video striking the juvenile female, once to the body and once to the face, with an open hand,” the local department said about the attack.
Court documents obtained by NJ.com said the suspect was triggered by the teen victim wearing the Trump sweatpants. The girl was ultimately uninjured.
Police said they arrested Ms. Tracey on Monday, but Ocean County jail records reviewed Wednesday showed the suspect was not in county custody.
She has a court appearance in the county scheduled for Aug. 4.
“She entered the United States on April 14, 2024, on a visa set to expire on September 6, 2024,” the DHS said. “In violation of our nation’s laws, she overstayed her visa and failed to depart.”
Earlier this week, a man named Matthew Geroni, who says on TikTok that he is Ms. Tracey’s husband, posted a video saying immigration authorities had taken her into custody.
“I don’t know what to do. My wife is being detained by ICE. She’s in Ocean County jail right now. I can’t get a hold of her,” Mr. Geroni said in the video posted Monday.
In a follow-up video posted Tuesday, he said his wife was moved to ICE’s Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark.
Mr. Geroni said police told his wife they didn’t have enough to charge her on the day of the alleged attack, so they told her to leave the boardwalk.
He said Ms. Tracey later turned herself in after authorities issued an arrest warrant for her.
Mr. Geroni said the couple has been married for over three years and that Ms. Tracey is a Canadian citizen. The couple lives in Asbury Park.
Court filings confirmed she’s Canadian and she came to the U.S. with her passport in 2024.
“I’m just doing anything I can to get her story heard and bring any help and attention to her situation so that I can get her released, even if that means back to Canada,” Mr. Geroni said.
Marriage to a U.S. citizen creates a speedy path to permanent residence and U.S. citizenship, but it does not accrue automatically. One must formally apply for it with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
While New Jersey has limited how law enforcement can cooperate with ICE since 2018, Ocean County’s Republican-heavy Board of Commissioners has pushed against the mandate in the past.
The county sued the state in 2019 over its updated ICE policy. Last year, former County Commission Director Jack Kelly said the municipality would let ICE probe its jail for illegal immigrants.
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