Why let
local cops get drawn into Trump’s pogrom against immigrants?
In the early hours of a winter day
in 2017, “Laura” — a Montclair, New Jersey resident and single mother of four —
received a visit from the local police, responding to a household dispute that
had taken place hours beforehand.
The police took Laura to Montclair
jail, where they inquired into her immigration status. Laura refused to reply
to a question about her “papers.” That evening, she was transferred to Essex
County Jail, which has a contract to house Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) detainees.
Three days later, she was taken into
ICE custody and detained at Elizabeth Detention Center in Union County, where
she would remain imprisoned for three and a half months.
I first heard Laura’s story through my work addressing conditions in detention centers and advocating for policies to stop detentions and deportations. I’ve met hundreds of families whose lives are thrown into chaos, who spend months or years in detention, and who get deported to countries they haven’t seen in decades.
Often it’s a chance encounter with
law enforcement that sets these events in motion. Because of this, I spend a
lot of time trying to keep ICE out of our communities.
As the abuses perpetrated by ICE
gain widespread attention, so too do the calls to abolish
the agency.
But while we’re working to end ICE long-term, we also have proven, effective methods to reduce the harm they’re causing now. These include robust sanctuary policies that end the collusion with local law enforcement that ICE relies so heavily on.
But while we’re working to end ICE long-term, we also have proven, effective methods to reduce the harm they’re causing now. These include robust sanctuary policies that end the collusion with local law enforcement that ICE relies so heavily on.
ICE is notorious for racial
profiling, human
rights violations, and for
a lack
of accountability and transparency.
In 2017, immigration enforcement
activities went up 30
percent nationally, and 42 percent in my state of New Jersey.
This means more New Jersey immigrant communities are being torn apart. It means that New Jersey is losing important labor force and tax contributions.
It means taxpayers are footing the bill for costly and immoral immigrant detention. And it means more children will grow up without their parents.
This means more New Jersey immigrant communities are being torn apart. It means that New Jersey is losing important labor force and tax contributions.
It means taxpayers are footing the bill for costly and immoral immigrant detention. And it means more children will grow up without their parents.
This pattern is being repeated in
states all over the country.
Here, we’re using sanctuary policies
to protect our communities from these abuses. This March, after years of public
pressure, Hudson County ended
its controversial partnerships between local law enforcement and ICE.
Cities like Newark and Jersey City — where many residents are foreign-born and may have family members with no or pending immigration status –—have adopted strong and meaningful policies to not collaborate with ICE.
Cities like Newark and Jersey City — where many residents are foreign-born and may have family members with no or pending immigration status –—have adopted strong and meaningful policies to not collaborate with ICE.
Hundreds of localities are
considering, or have passed, sanctuary policies to preserve privacy, protect
data, ensure access to services, and cut ties with the federal government’s
increasingly aggressive immigration raids, detentions, and deportations.
For Laura and her family, policies
like these could have helped prevent the devastating consequences of her
incarceration.
While detained she lost her job, and her children were forced to stay with her abusive partner. Though Laura is out on immigration bond, she still hasn’t reunited with her children and is living in poverty.
While detained she lost her job, and her children were forced to stay with her abusive partner. Though Laura is out on immigration bond, she still hasn’t reunited with her children and is living in poverty.
And she’s now facing deportation.
The good news is that sanctuary
policies work. According to a study
by the Migration Policy Institute,
the majority of ICE arrests rely on some form of collaboration with local law
enforcement, and jurisdictions that limit their cooperation with the agency see
arrest and detention numbers go down.
Here in New Jersey, I’ve seen the
destruction caused when ICE is allowed to operate unchecked, and I’m proud of
the work we’ve done — in coalitions across the state — to protect the rights
and lives of all New Jersey residents. Thousands of others are campaigning hard
in other states, too.
Until the federal government stops
its relentless persecution of immigrants, it’s up to us to provide refuge in
whatever ways we can.
Chia-Chia
Wang is the organizing and
advocacy director in the American Friends Service Committee’s Newark, New
Jersey office. Distributed by OtherWords.org.