Immigration Raids Continue: Local Employees Are Arrested

Candace Braun

Another immigration raid took place in Mercer County last week, according to Maria Juega, chair of the Latin-American Legal Defense and Education Fund in Princeton. Residents in a West Windsor apartment complex off of Route 1, a mother, father, uncle and 21-year-old daughter who was a former graduate of Princeton High School and student at Mercer County Community College, were taken away by Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BICE) officials on November 30.

The father worked in construction and the mother was a housekeeper at Princeton University. The family had been been residents in the community for 13 years and parishioners at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in Trenton.

"We can see from the types of people that are being taken away that they are not criminals," said Ms. Juega, mentioning a report of another immigration raid in Franklin Township on Tuesday when two men were taken away at 5:30 a.m., leaving behind their wives and children. The men, both Mexican, were employed at a local landscaping company, said Ms. Juega.

"Immigrants are caught in this incredible limbo," she said, adding that current immigration laws don't allow them to obtain legal status, even if they know U.S. citizens who are willing to sponsor them.

Early last month, Borough Council passed a resolution calling for immigration reforms in the federal government. The resolution was triggered by an immigration raid in the Borough on October 13, when local police were asked to be present for security reasons. Eight males were removed from a Witherspoon Street residence in handcuffs, although, according to Borough Police Chief Chuck Davall, BICE only had arrest warrants for two of the men.

The resolution was supported by Ryan Lilienthal, an immigration attorney and Borough resident who served on Council from 1998 through 2001. It stated that the Borough strongly disapproves of any conduct by BICE officials that creates needless distrust among local immigrants and the Borough Police Department, and asked that local police have no role in any raids.

"My basic concern with these immigration raids is that it seems to miss the higher priority, which is public safety," said Mr. Lilienthal on Tuesday, adding that when immigrants become fearful of their local government, they are less willing to come forward as witnesses, victims, or in emergencies such as an accident or fire.

"It's not only a danger for immigrants, but also for the rest of us...It's not resolving the problem we have with illegal immigration in this country," he said.

The Township discussed a similar resolution as its meeting on Monday.