Bryan MacCormack says he and the two individuals riding in the back of his vehicle had just left Hudson City Court on Tuesday, when they were pulled over by a car carrying three federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.

“I believe it is a violation of basic human rights they are out here terrorizing and kidnapping, essentially, community members,” MacCormack said Friday.

MacCormack, who is the executive director of the Columbia County Sanctuary Movement, shared images of the incident on the group’s Facebook page. He says his two passengers had requested a court chaperone from the organization, which advocates on behalf of immigrants and aims to educate them about their legal rights.

“I do not know what their [legal] status is,” MacCormack said. “They are community members that requested support from CCSM and we provided it.”

After 10 minutes, MacCormack says the agents left and no one was detained.

“Frankly, it was nerve-racking for myself and the community members in the vehicle,” he said.

In the days since, MacCormack has accused the Hudson Police Department of cooperating with ICE after the PD sent officers to the scene. He believes that violates a 2017 executive order declaring Hudson a “welcoming and inclusive” city.

“Them getting a call from ICE and coming to a raid is in fact cooperating with them, without the presence of a judicial warrant,” MacCormack said.

But not all agree.

“My small department doesn’t actively participate in immigration investigations,” Hudson Police Department Chief Edward Moore said. “We have too much stuff going on.”

Following a meeting with MacCormack and city leaders Friday, Moore says his officers were at the scene strictly to keep the peace and not to cooperate with ICE.

“We really sent the guys over there so things didn’t get out of hand. It fell short of actually collaborating with ICE,” Moore said.

MacCormack remains convinced the community’s immigrant population is being unjustly targeted, especially by federal authorities.

“No human is illegal,” MacCormack said. “I would say people have rights regardless of their status in this country.”

In a written statement Khaalid Walls, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the agents’ attempt to detain the two men who are in the country unlawfully, was disrupted by MacCormack.

“Individuals who intervene in or seek to impede ICE officers while they are carrying out their mission recklessly endanger not only the enforcement personnel, but also the individuals targeted for arrest and potentially innocent bystanders,” Walls wrote. “Those who engage in such actions expose themselves to potential criminal violations, and run the risk of harming the very people they purport to support.”