Vigil, March In North Jersey: ‘Melt The ICE,’ Activists Say

NEW JERSEY — A coalition of community members are planning to hold a prayer vigil and march in North Jersey on Wednesday to demand the “shut down all detention centers, an end to deportations and the criminalization of migration, and a path to citizenship for all.”

According to a news release, the event will bring together faith leaders, community members and formerly detained people for the rally. Organizers of Wednesday’s rally include: Pax Christi NJ, First Friends of NJ & NY, Northern NJ Sanctuary Coalition, Haiti Solidarity Network of the Northeast, Occupy Bergen County, Casa de Esperanza NJ, and Interfaith Campaign for Just Closures. Learn more here.

Organizers are calling for the passage of the Values Act in New Jersey and New Way Forward Act on the federal level.

According to a news release:

“Participants will gather in Liberty State Park [at the parking lot on Freedom Way next to the playground] beginning at 10 a.m. for a prayer service which will include testimony from a person formerly detained by ICE, the imposition of ashes, for Ash Wednesday, and the laying of a wreath in the water for all those who have died in the last year while trying to flee their home countries. Participants will then march to the offices of Senator [Robert] Menendez, Senator [Cory] Booker and Rep. Donald Payne to thank them and their staff for their work on individual cases, but also to urge them to do more in the way of legislation to end ICE detention and roll back harsh immigration laws and measures, particularly those passed in 1996.”

This is the 13th year that people of faith will be gather in Liberty State Park on Ash Wednesday to call for an end to the ICE detention system, organizers noted.

New Jersey banned prisons from making deals with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to hold federal immigration detainees in August 2021. The law didn’t terminate existing contracts with ICE, however, which many advocates have continued to demand.

• See related article: NJ Bans Prisons From Making Deals To Hold Immigrants For ICE
• See related article: NJ Senators Want To End ICE Contracts As Hunger Strike Continues

Wednesday’s direct action is tied to nearly 20 actions taking place across the country during Detention Watch Network, FIRM Action, American Friends Service Committee, United We Dream and the We Are Home Campaign’s “Communities Not Cages” National Day of Action on March 3.

Advocates said they plan to express their “deep disappointment and frustration over [President Joe Biden’s] broken campaign promises.”

Organizers said:

“Rather than reducing detention as promised along the campaign trail that was reaffirmed by Biden as recently as April of 2021, the administration has instead embarked on a troubling pattern of detention expansion and has embraced Trump-era anti-immigrant policies, including the harmful “Remain in Mexico” program and Title 42 border closure and expulsions. Advocates say the administration bears full responsibility for the suffering inflicted on thousands of people subjected to detention and their loved ones who feel their absence and are fighting to bring them home.”

Sign up for Patch email newsletters. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Send news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com