Judge Halts Deportation Of 2 NJ Dads

A judge stopped the U.S. government Friday from deporting two fathers who recently were picked up while dropping their children off at school.

A federal district court judge granted a temporary restraining order halting the deportations after a suit was filed Feb. 2 by the ACLU-NJ, according to the organization.

Two of the people in the suit, Roby Sanger of Metuchen and Gunawan Liem of Highland Park, were detained without warning on Jan. 25 while dropping off their children at school, despite never having missed check-ins with ICE.

Read more: Metuchen Dad Arrested By ICE After School Drop-Off, Advocates Say

The ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project and the law firm of Paul Weiss, appearing pro bono, presented the lawsuit in court Friday.

Sanger and others can't go home just yet, however. The Democratic Activists of Metuchen, who applauded the decision, said Sanger and others remain in detention until the government elects to release them.

"In view of today’s decision, we hope that the government releases Roby Sanger and others impacted by this decision to their families as soon as possible," the group said. "This was a critical first step in this process and we will continue to need you support as we work to release our friends and neighbors. The power of our collective voice in this case has been unprecedented and a key component in this important victory – thank you to all of you in speaking out on this issue."

The group asked people to attend the Postcard & Tweet Storm to Keep Families Together event on Saturday at 10 a.m at Cai's Cafe at 420 Main St. in Metuchen. A press conference will be held beginning at 1 p.m. with Metuchen Mayor Jonathan Busch and others.

A day before the ruling, a federal judge in a similar ACLU case in Massachusetts ordered the government to halt the removal of Indonesian Christians. The judge ruled that they needed more time to file and receive decisions on motions to re-open their immigration cases because of increasingly perilous conditions for Christians in Indonesia.

In a statement, the ACLU-NJ said the deportation of these "longtime" community members "violates due process and deprives them of the opportunity to argue their case for asylum."

"U.S. law prohibits removal of people who would likely face persecution or torture, a risk that courts have ruled Christians, especially of Chinese descent, would encounter in Indonesia.

“These community members, our neighbors, are entitled to argue their case with the protections of due process, especially when the stakes are life-and-death,” said ACLU-NJ Executive Director Amol Sinha. “We stand with Harry, Mariyana, Roby, Gunawan, and hundreds of other community members like them, as do the communities they have contributed to for decades. They deserve to have notice before being exiled to a country where their lives will be at risk, and they deserve the opportunity to challenge that decision.”

The ACLU described Harry Pangemanan as a "leader in his church" who has been publicly recognized for his work leading a team of 3000 people who were building more than 200 homes destroyed by Superstorm Sandy. He's also travelled around the country to lead disaster relief volunteer trips.

Recently, he took refuge in the Reformed Church of Highland Park, co-led by the Rev. Seth Kaper-Dale and Rev. Stephanie Kaper-Dale, to avoid detention.

“This case involves life-and-death stakes and we are simply asking that these longtime residents be given opportunity to show that they are entitled to remain here,” said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project. “As in other recent similar cases in Detroit, Boston, Miami and Los Angeles involving mass deportations, we are asking the court to make clear that the fundamental protections of due process apply to noncitizens.”

Hundreds packed a church and marched in Metuchen on Jan. 28 in support of the families, voicing disapproval of their neighbors’ detention and deportation.

“We are extremely heartened and relieved that Judge Salas has ruled that these families may not be deported while she reviews their case,” said ACLU-NJ Senior Staff Attorney Farrin Anello. “Our Constitution and laws recognize that people must not be jailed or deported without an opportunity to seek court review of these harsh actions. Nowhere is this right to due process more important than in the government’s decision to send people to a country where their lives would be in danger.”

Photo by Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press