An article in the RECORD of Thursday, February 23, 2017, quotes ICE in New Jersey spokesman Alvin Phillips as saying, “We are not conducting raids….We are continuing to target individuals that might be a threat to national security or public safety.” http://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2017/02/22/feds-say-they-arent-doing-immigration-raids-nj/98265748/
Rumors are rampant, however, that raids are being planned. Chia-Chia Wang, organizing and advocacy director at American Friends Service Committee, said she was aware of recent actions involving immigrants in Elizabeth and Lindenwold. However, the people involved seemed to have been targeted for specific reasons, as they have been in previous years. So far there is no evidence of a major or visible shift under the new immigration orders.
Members of the Palisades Park area are telling CoFiA that they are very anxious and are afraid to leave their homes. Others are more relaxed–some have been here for many years and have seen constant shifts in both immigration policy and enforcement. According to the RECORD article, all federal immigration officers can now conduct an “expedited removal” anywhere in the US against people who arrived in the country in the previous two years. One provision, which requires Mexico’s cooperation, allows federal agents to send people to Mexico, even if they’re not from that country. Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray says this is not going to happen.
CoFiA is trying to stay up-to-date on the issues and will share what we learn with our members and the community. We need lots of information about what is going on–please send notices to us at info@communityoffriendsinaction.org.