Cabbie Deported In Essex, Rally To Support ICE Detainees Planned

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — For Faruk Karimu, a Bronx taxi driver deported to Ghana last week, Thursday’s rally may be coming too late. But for the hundreds of immigrants deported out of Essex County every few months, there is still a chance.

That hope is the heart of a rally set for 10 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 29 at the Hall of Records, 465 MLK Boulevard in Newark, organizers say.

The peaceful rally is being held in the name of Karimu, who was removed from the county despite an ongoing criminal investigation into allegations he was beaten and raped by corrections officers at Newark's Essex County Correctional Facility.

Karimu, 40, who had been in the United States for 13 years, was arrested and taken to the Essex County prison after a regularly scheduled check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in May. Ten days later, he allegedly had a dispute with corrections officers over not getting enough time to call family, WNYC reported.

Karimu said he was handcuffed and taken to solitary confinement, where two officers allegedly assaulted and raped him, WNYC reported.

An ICE spokesperson said Karimu was deported because of a 2010 federal conviction on drug charges. (Read the full article)

On Thursday, protesters plan to demand a “meaningful response” from the county in the wake of Karimu’s deportation, according to a statement from the Faith in Essex group. (Learn more about this local event)

Protesters are insisting the officers involved be removed from interacting with the detainee population until an investigation has been completed. They are also demanding the implantation of a “civilian oversight board” as described by the ACLU-NJ in their March 13 letter to the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

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