I spent several months researching this piece, talking with immigrants and advocates to get a sense of their concerns. The debate over immigration — and not only because of Donald Trump — has been dangerously divisive and divorced from the reality that many in the immigrant community face. They do not get to vote, but they deserve a voice.
Prisoners of Fear: NJ’s Undocumented Immigrants
Recent roundups and immigration police activity have locals afraid to leave their houses to shop, work, or take kids to school
Despite New Jersey’s standing as a state sympathetic to undocumented immigrants, many locals are now living in desperate fear of deportation. That’s causing them to keep children home from school; avoid openly looking for work; steer clear of restaurants and public spaces; and even shy away from walking the streets.
Unlike the typical feeling of vulnerability caused by a lack of legal status, this heightened anxiety has been triggered by recent enforcement actions around the state and increased raids by the Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency throughout the country. They are expected to continue at least through this month if not through the year.
ICE insists these raids are focused on suspected criminals, very recent immigrants who have crossed the border illegally or have been ordered removed by an immigration court. But locals believe these actions are meant to indiscriminately round up all suspected undocumented residents, breaking up families that have built lives in New Jersey.
“Everybody is afraid of immigration, of ICE,” said Jose Avila, an undocumented immigrant from Peru. “We are afraid to even go walking.”
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Hank Kalet 