'Ban ICE Contracts:' New Push For Immigrant Rights Launches In NJ

NEWARK, NJ — A New Jersey woman calls the police for help with a domestic situation, but instead, gets arrested and reported to ICE. A mother of two sees her husband taken away “for no good reason,” setting off a bureaucratic nightmare that lasts for 16 grueling months. And another woman says her son faced retaliation from prison officers and “dehumanizing” strip searches while imprisoned in the Garden State.

These are just a few of the stories that emerged from distraught families on Wednesday during a press conference to launch a new, statewide campaign for immigrant rights (watch the video below).

The campaign, dubbed the “Fair and Welcoming New Jersey For All Platform,” is being spearheaded by the Newark-based New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice (NJAIJ), a coalition of 43 member organizations that represents 150,000 Garden State residents.

According to a statement from the NJAIJ, the effort is an attempt to get state lawmakers to stand up against federal persecution of immigrants. There’s also another big demand, activists said: Ban counties and towns from profiting from contracts to house ICE detainees.

• See related article: NJ Senators Want To End ICE Contracts As Hunger Strike Continues
• See related article: Activists Rally In Newark: 'No ICE Blood Money At Essex County Prison'

“No resident should fear for their safety because their local leaders take dirty money from ICE,” Executive Director Amy Torres said.

“New Jersey leads the nation in its diversity and its percentage of people with immigrant heritage,” Torres said. “But despite the number of families who call our state home, New Jersey continues to turn a blind eye to ICE collaboration and entrapment.”

Here’s what the groups are asking state officials to do:

• “Ban new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention contracts, including renewals or expansions”
• “Make schools, hospitals, and courthouses safer and make data more secure by updating confidentiality policies and restricting what can be shared with federal immigration authorities”
• “Close law enforcement loopholes that entrap immigrant communities by strengthening the Immigrant Trust Directive and making it permanent”
• “Remove harmful terms like ‘alien’ from state language so that laws affirm the right to belonging and inclusion”

FEAR OF DEPORTATION

In the last five years, more than 15,000 immigrants have been ordered deported following court decisions in the Garden State, including over 4,000 in the 2020 fiscal year, according to a recent study from New Jersey Policy Perspective.

And for thousands of families across New Jersey, there’s a constant fear that has become part of daily life, advocates say.

Some of them spoke out during Wednesday’s news conference.

“I called the police for help with a domestic matter and they arrested me and reported me to ICE,” said Juli, a member of Make the Road New Jersey who asked that her last name be withheld.

“After what happened to me with the local police, I don't know who to call when I need help,” she continued. “An interaction with police should not result in detention.”

Sharon Cajon, a mother of two young children from Plainfield, alleged that ICE officers seized her husband, Jorge, for “no good reason.” He finally won his immigration case 16 months later, but the financial and emotional harm had already taken their toll.

Another member shared her family separation story after her son and spouse who were held in detention facilities in New Jersey. During their detention, her son faced retaliation from officers and “dehumanizing” strip searches and abuse, the NJAIJ said.

“We can't wait for the federal government to act, because New Jersey families are being separated on a daily basis,” said Gricelda Cortes-Gonzalez, a social worker with the American Friends Service Committee - Immigrant Rights Project in Red Bank.

“The state must protect our communities now,” Cortes-Gonzalez urged. “We need change now.”

• See related article: NJ Advocates Demand COVID Aid For Immigrants, Find Ally In Church
• See related article: New Jersey Immigrants Deserve Coronavirus Aid, 100 Teachers Say

CHANGING THE LAWS

As part of the campaign, organizers have been encouraging people to contact their local representatives in the state Legislature about their platform and the bills it includes: the Values Act and S3361/A5207, which would ban new ICE agreements and the renewal and extension of current ICE contracts in New Jersey.

Sen. Loretta Weinberg (District 37) and Assemblyman Gordon Johnson (District 3), the sponsors of S-3361/A-5207, both offered statements of support for the proposed law.

“This legislation was a response to the Trump administration's abhorrent immigration policies that focused on family separations, child detention, and the amplifying of misery for a desperate population,” Johnson said.

Weinberg said that she doesn’t believe there’s a place for ICE detention centers in New Jersey – period.

“I believe our state is more secure when it is more welcoming,” Weinberg said. “We don’t need federal agents deciding who is or isn’t part of our community.”

Other state lawmakers such as Assemblyman Gary Schaer (District 36) and Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (District 37) have since lent their own endorsements to the Fair and Welcoming Platform.

Several NJAIJ member organizations, community leaders, and legal advocates have also released statements in support of the campaign.

S. Nadia Hussain, Bangladeshi American Women’s Development Initiative (BAWDI) – “Undocumented members of the Bangladeshi community in New Jersey often feel invisible, and live in constant fear of immigration enforcement, deportation and family separation. There is no reason to subject people to detention just because they are trying to look for a better life for themselves and their families. Detention is cruel, unnecessary, ineffective and further sows mistrust between our communities and our government.”

Jackie Zapata, First Friends of NJ & NY – “I’m working with friends in immigration detention on a daily basis, I see the hardships immigration enforcement and detention causes on New Jersey families. The Fair and Welcoming platform helps keep our immigrant communities safer while taking a step forward to end the inhumane treatment and conditions of immigration detention centers.”

Charlene Walker, Faith in New Jersey – “Faith in New Jersey members have experienced trauma, fear, and racism due to New Jersey's chosen role in immigration enforcement. This dehumanizes all of us, leads to over policing in our communities, and allows county governments to commodify Black and Brown bodies for the sake of profit. The Fair and Welcoming Platform provides New Jersey the opportunity to begin to honor the inherent worth and dignity of immigrants while providing them a sense of belonging. This is how New Jersey begins to truly love thy neighbor.”

Sarah Fajardo, ACLU-NJ – “New Jersey must build fair and welcoming communities where everyone, regardless of immigration status, can thrive. With the Immigrant Trust Directive, New Jersey has taken important steps to limit local law enforcement involvement in federal immigration enforcement, and the Legislature now has an opportunity to strengthen and codify the directive and end state complicity in the federal deportation machine once and for all. It’s time to end the fear that immigrants – particularly Black and Brown immigrants who are already targeted by our unjust and inequitable criminal legal system – experience when they come into contact with government agencies, including social services departments, schools, and public health authorities. We urge our lawmakers to pass legislation to limit cooperation between local police and ICE and to prevent the continued growth of immigration detention in New Jersey. A New Jersey for all of us is one that protects the rights, dignity and well-being of all residents.”

Kevin Brown, SEIU Local 32BJ – “There is no place for hate in New Jersey. We condemn any practice that allows for the unlawful detention of undocumented immigrants, family separation, inadequate access to medical care, and ill living conditions. As New Jerseyans, it is our responsibility to lead the nation by being an example of hospitality, generosity and most importantly, empathy. Let’s continue to build a state that is welcoming to all, where new immigrants find opportunities and protection, and gain the freedom to thrive.”

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Don’t forget to visit the Patch Newark Facebook page. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Sign up for Patch email newsletters.