SOUTH ORANGE-MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Federal immigration agents recently arrested four people in the South Orange-Maplewood area, including two roofers, a handyman and the sous chef at a local restaurant.
South Orange Mayor Sheena Collum said the arrests took place Friday in both towns: two in South Orange and two in Maplewood.
A local resident posted a video of ICE agents in unmarked cars apprehending the roofers in Maplewood.
Collum said details were initially sparse.
"When we reached out to ICE, their standard response was to confirm that 'activity is occurring' and tell us we could 'look up detainees in a database, which gets updated every 24 to 48 hours,'" the mayor said.
"That obviously doesn't help much when we may not even know who the individuals are," she added. "However, because of the extraordinary participation of community members, we were able to identify the individuals very quickly."
"These are fathers, husbands, brothers, and caretakers going to work on just another day to provide for the families who depend on them," Collum said.
Three separate online fundraisers have been launched to help the four detainees. The GoFundMe campaigns have raised more than $82,000 as of Tuesday (see links below).
According to the fundraising pages, the arrestees included:
ROOFERS – "Two crew members of Obaldo's Roofing were detained by ICE: Edgar (Obaldo's brother) and Miguel. Edgar is a devoted husband, a father of three children ages 16, 8, and 4, and someone who has spent the last 18 years building a life here through faith, hard work, and love for family. Miguel has lived in the U.S. since he was 14 and has no family here. He lives with Edgar's family, and has worked for Obaldo since 2010." >> Read More Here
CHEF – "Omar Alvarez is the sous chef at Perla in Maplewood. He is a friend and collaborator and has played a significant role in shaping Perla as it is today… Omar is from Peru. He has been on his path to citizenship and has been following every lawful step in the process." >> Read More Here
HANDYMAN – "Tonny Quesada-Ramirez, who goes by Tony, lives in South Orange with his wife and two children. He is from Costa Rica, and has lived in the United States for 26 years. Several years ago, he began the process to get a green card. Our family has known Tony for five years, ever since he made for us a beautiful wooden cover for a radiator. He lived in an apartment on our street, and we turned to Tony again and again whenever we needed work done in our home. His work was beautiful, and we got to know Tony. He was kind. He was easy to work with. He lit up when talking about his family, most of all his two sons, the older of whom has Down syndrome." >> Read More Here
Collum said that community members in both towns rallied over the weekend, sharing crucial information that helped to identify who the arrestees were – and how to support them.
"In many places, people just disappear… not here," she said.
"Here, neighbors noticed," the mayor continued. "People took pictures and videos. They shared information. They made calls. They helped us identify people. They connected families with resources, attorneys, and financial assistance."
"And they did it quickly because they cared about people they might not even have known," she said.
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Both towns have passed local laws regarding ICE activity within their borders.
The South Orange Board of Trustees and village president passed a resolution in 2017 that declares the township a "sanctuary city." Among other provisions, the resolution states that no municipal employees – including police – can "enforce federal immigration law, nor help facilitate ICE deportations, except where legally required to do so."
Meanwhile, Maplewood passed two ordinances that limit local cooperation with ICE in July. Under the Maplewood Immigrant Trust Act, agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal immigration authorities are prohibited from conducting enforcement raids and operations on township-owned property without a court warrant. Federal authorities are also prevented from accessing municipal databases unless they have a warrant.
Other towns and cities in Essex County have also seen recent ICE arrests involving local workers.
A major ICE immigration raid took place at a wholesale seafood distributor in Newark last year. The same business was also raided last November, an operation that ended with 13 arrests.
The workers were accused of being "illegal aliens" who were employed at the business.
"Worksite enforcement remains a cornerstone of our efforts to protect public safety, national security, and economic stability while rescuing individuals who may be victims of labor trafficking or exploitation," Homeland Security spokespeople said.
Federal immigration agents arrested five people in Belleville in July. The town's mayor said the arrestees included multiple landscapers.
Each is accused of being "unlawfully present in the United States," an ICE spokesperson said.
"Under President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, ICE is targeting the worst of the worst," the agency alleged. "Nearly 70 percent of ICE arrests are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S. Our message is clear: if you come into our country illegally and break our laws, we will find you, we will arrest you, and we will deport you."
As part of his campaign platform in 2024, the president vowed to immediately launch a nationwide immigration crackdown as soon as he was elected.
"Our southern border is overrun by cartels, criminal gangs, known terrorists, human traffickers, smugglers, unvetted military-age males from foreign adversaries, and illicit narcotics that harm Americans," Trump declared.
Advocates and family members of ICE detainees have pushed back against the claim that most of the people getting caught up in the sweeps are "criminals," however.
In April, data research organization Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse reported that out of 60,311 people held in ICE detention across the nation, about 70.8 percent had no criminal conviction before being apprehended – and many of those who do were convicted only of minor offenses such as traffic violations.
Although the focus on federal immigration enforcement has ramped up since Trump took office, large-scale ICE raids also took place in New Jersey during the administration of his predecessor, Joe Biden.
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