ICE Deports Christian Immigrants In Metuchen, Highland Park

HIGHLAND PARK, NJ — A main talking point of President Donald Trump's administration is that many of the illegal immigrants they are deporting are dangerous criminals, wanted for drug trafficking, gang membership or sex assault.

Tell that to Joel Massie, age 13.

Massie lives in Metuchen with his mother. His father, Arino Massie, is a Christian Indonesian refugee and he was deported in May by Immigration and Customs agents.

The elder Massie is part of a group of four Indonesian Christian men in the Highland Park and Metuchen area, all of whom who have been living in the U.S. for nearly the past 20 years. The four men overstayed tourist visas in the 1990s. They were previously protected under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama because they said they fled Indonesia, a Muslim-majority country, due to religious persecution. Churches have been burned in Indonesia and a pastor was decapitated in 2004. The men applied for asylum, but their applications were rejected because they missed the deadline; asylum-seekers must apply within one year of arriving on U.S. soil.

All four men were working blue-collar jobs in the Central Jersey area. Although they did not have legal immigration status, as long as they checked in with ICE agents in Newark every year, as required by law, they were allowed to stay.

Not this year. At their April check-in, the four men were told to come back for a follow-up appointment. They did, accompanied by a lawyer. At that time, they were arrested and taken to the ICE detention center in Elizabeth. On May 18, Arino Massie was deported back to Indonesia.

His 13-year-old son was in school when his dad was boarded onto a plane and flown back.

"My dad can't live the dream that he had when he came here for the first time," said Joel at a press conference in Washington organized by Democratic Congressman Frank Pallone, who represents the Metuchen/Highland Park area. Joel broke down crying at the press conference. "I'm stressed that he can't have a family to stand beside him. I'm sad that he can't live the dream of a life in America with his family at the same time."

Watch that press conference below:

Joel is pictured above with Rev. Seth Kaper-Dale, of the Reformed Church of Highland Park, who has taken up the Indonesians' cause and is running for governor.

All four men have now since been sent back to Indonesia. When asked, ICE spokesman Luis Martinez did not explain why they were deported.

In June, Pallone re-introduced a bill in the House that would grant extensions to some Indonesian Christians, allowing them to re-apply for asylum even though they missed the one-year deadline. There are an estimated 80 undocumented Indonesian Christians living in New Jersey currently. All of them are at a deportation risk.

"I think the Trump administration is trying to give the impression that they are detaining and deporting only people who have criminal records or have had some history of crime," said Rep. Pallone. "That is simply not true."

"The other myth the Trump administration tries to give us is, 'Oh, we're not going after Christians.' Well, these men are Christians," said Pallone.