Messages Of Hope For NJ Immigrants Skywritten Above Prisons

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — The skies above several prisons in New Jersey were alive with messages of hope Monday.

As part of a national campaign dubbed “In Plain Sight,” a coalition of local immigrant advocacy groups and artists joined together for a day of action, recruiting a fleet of planes to spell out messages over 80 detention facilities across the U.S.

The groups are demanding the release of immigrant detainees in detention facilities and county jails amid the coronavirus crisis.

“Free Them All,” one message spelled out above the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark, which houses a mix of inmates and federal ICE detainees.

In New Jersey, where thousands of detainees are held in ICE detention in both private facilities and in county jails, planes also wrote messages over the Bergen and Hudson County Jails, as well as the Elizabeth Detention Center, which has come under recent fire from activists and seen several protests over the past months.

Participating groups in Monday’s action included Make the Road New Jersey, American Friends Service Committee, the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, and First Friends of NY and NJ.

• See related article: Stuck In Jail During A Pandemic; Coronavirus Hits NJ Prisons
• See related article: Coronavirus Prison Deaths Rise In NJ: 'They Stole My Baby's Life'

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

Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Sign up for Patch email newsletters.