ICE conducts 'targeted enforcement action' in New Brunswick
NEW BRUNSWICK - At least 10 people were detained by agents with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the city on Thursday.
The incidents began at about 5:30 a.m. and occurred at various locations around the city, according to Teresa Vivar with LAZOS America Unida, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the rights and well-being of the Latino community. Vivar, who recently set up an office at the Reformed Church of Highland Park, said the organization was contacted early Thursday morning regarding the incidents.
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According to an email from ICE's Newark office, "ICE conducted a targeted enforcement action in New Brunswick today. This is an administrative action so information regarding the arrests are protected by the DHS privacy policy."
In the first incident, a driver and his brother were stopped in a vehicle in the vicinity of Townsend and French Streets. They were fingerprinted and the driver, who had working papers, was released. His brother was detained, Vivar said.
At about 7:30 a.m., a van was stopped in the vicinity of Powers Street and Joyce Kilmer Avenue. A male and female were detained and two females were released.
A short time later, a man was detained in the vicinity of Sandford Street.
Around 8 a.m. four males were detained in the vicinity of Joyce Kilmer Avenue.
Other instances were reported in the morning in the vicinity of Redmond Street and Lee Avenue, Vivar said.
As of early afternoon, one of the detainees — the male who was detained in the vicinity of Townsend and French Streets — was scheduled to be released upon posting a $5,000 bail bond, Vivar said, adding that she had no further details on the others by mid-afternoon.
During an interview, one woman, who declined to give her name, said she was driving to work in a van when the vehicle was stopped and agents began fingerprinting those inside.
"When I saw all this happening, I didn't know what to do. I was in shock," she said, as Vivar translated. "When they handcuffed my co-worker, I felt so bad. I started to cry. I was panicking. I called my family and said they want to take me away. They want to take me away. My father told me to calm down and not sign anything and he would contact someone to help."
She said the ICE agents took two people from the van.
"One of the agents came back and said we'll come back for you," she said. "I stayed there in shock waiting. Then the wife of the driver, who was detained, came back crying."
The agents then left with the detainees and she was safe — for now.
Another woman spoke about how ICE showed up at the house where she is living and took away a man.
"They came in the house and checked all the rooms," she said. "They didn't care that there were five children in the house getting ready to go to school. I feel very sad, scared because I have a baby and I can't go to a country without my baby. They (the children) were asking what happened. They're sad because they took someone from the house."
A spokeswoman for the City of New Brunswick referred calls to ICE.
"For a city like New Brunswick, which has insisted it's a fair and welcoming city and have even been defensive when challenged,"said Green Party gubernatorial candidate Seth Kaper-Dale, co-pastor of Reformed Church of Highland Park, "they need to face the facts that people are being deported in mass from their own city. That means that they're not doing a good enough job of protecting their city. Either they need to step up and do it or the community itself — through activism — (will) do what the local government won't do."
Vivar said LAZOS is a volunteer organization that tries to raise funds to support these families and organizes working groups in the community. Some of the groups man the emergency line and send immediate help, while others tackle legal-rights issues.
"Another group is working on what types of services the churches and others can provide to help these families in need," she said.
Vivar said that since the Trump administration took over, the situation has worsened.
"It's getting crazy," Vivar said. "We get a lot of calls."
She said the need to support these families has increased.
"Today we have around seven sites in which immigration took at least one person," she said. "We're seeing more and more instances like this."
The organization is reaching out to others for help," she said, adding that there are more than 100 organizations in Middlesex County, including schools, churches and others, helping.
To contact LAZOS America Unida, call 732-745-8666, visit 19 S. 2nd Ave. in Highland Park or email Lazosau@gmail.com.
In an emergency or for additional help with immigration issues, contact D.I.R.E. (Deportation & Immigration Response Equipo) at its hotline at 877-676-8499 or visit direteam.org.
Staff Writer Susan Loyer: 732-565-7243; sloyer@gannettnj.com