Just days after a detainee died in ICE custody, some city leaders are voicing concerns about ICE activity in their communities.
The mayor of Jersey City said he received four reports of ICE activity in the Heights and Downtown yesterday. He said there is no cooperation between police, civilians and ICE agents, and added that every city employee is trained not to work with ICE. Jersey City is a sanctuary city.
Mayor James Solomon said he is reaching out to federal officials and actively working with the families to provide legal services and other resources.
“We will continue using every tool that we have to fight back against these folks that are terrorizing the folks who make Jersey City a special place and community,” Solomon said. “And we will always stand up and have the backs of immigrants in Jersey City.”
Meanwhile, the mayor of Metuchen yesterday asked the community to help support a family in town whose loved one was taken into ICE custody and is now being held at Delaney Hall.
Mayor Jonathan Busch says the man's wife and child are now without him and are confronting fear and uncertainty.
Homeland Security posted on social media yesterday to say that if people are in the country illegally, they are asked to leave, or DHS says they will be found, arrested and deported.