Anti-ICE Protesters Rally In Montclair, Bloomfield After Latest Arrests

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — More anti-ICE protests took place in Montclair and Bloomfield this week, with the arrest of two local restaurant workers adding fuel to the metaphorical fire.

Two employees at Raymond’s on Church Street in Montclair were among six people who were detained by federal immigration agents on the morning of Aug. 19. The workers were on the way to their jobs at the time, Montclair Local reported.

ICE said the detentions were part of “routine immigration enforcement” being conducted in the area. All of the detainees are accused of unlawfully entering the U.S., authorities said.

Homeland Security officials, including Secretary Markwayne Mullin, have insisted that ICE is going after some of the “worst of the worst” criminals in the nation.

“Every day, the patriots of ICE are working to target the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from our country,” he said Thursday, sharing a list of recent arrests that have been taking place across the U.S.

Advocates and family members of ICE detainees have pushed back against the claim that most of them are “criminals,” however.

In April, data research organization Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse reported that out of 60,311 people held in ICE detention across the nation, about 70.8 percent had no criminal conviction before being apprehended – and many of those who do were convicted only of minor offenses such as traffic violations.

This was the case for the two restaurant workers recently arrested in Montclair – who are now imprisoned at Delaney Hall in Newark, according to New Jersey Assemblywoman Alixon Collazos-Gill.

“Let me be clear: they are not criminals,” Collazos-Gill said last week. “They are hardworking members of our community who deserve the dignity and respect that every human being deserves.”

“As an immigrant myself, I know the courage it takes to leave your country, your home, and everything you know to build a new life in a strange land,” said the lawmaker, who represents Montclair and several other towns in the 27^th district.

“Our immigrant neighbors are part of the fabric of Montclair and our state,” she said.

The incident sparked a protest in support of the detainees on Sunday near the area where the workers were taken into federal custody.

Some protesters carried signs that read "Abolish ICE." Others hoisted slogans like "I Protest Because I Love My Country."

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BLOOMFIELD RALLY

Nearby in Bloomfield, community members held a vigil on Saturday at the Historic Park on the Green to protest the ongoing federal immigration crackdown.

Spearheaded by the Bloomfield Immigrant Justice Network, attendees hoisted candles and gave speeches, calling for the defunding of ICE and the closure of Delaney Hall. One man held a sign that read: “Where did YOUR ancestors come from?”

Demonstrators also displayed photos of three detainees who have died while in ICE custody at Delaney Hall in the past year: Jean Wilson Brutus, Edwin Jovanny Lopez Cornejo, and Jose Chajon-Raxon.

Federal authorities and spokespeople with the GEO Group – the company that runs the prison –have repeatedly denied allegations of mistreatment involving the deaths.

• Related: NJ Lawmakers Clash Over Fate Of ICE Prison After 3 Detainee Deaths
• Related: ICE Arrests Landscapers In Essex Suburb; Deportations Planned, Feds Say

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