From the moment President Donald Trump was sworn into office, his administration has intensified its efforts to deliver on his promise of deporting a historic number of immigrants. They began by attempting to end the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship, then by targeting sanctuary cities: hubs where police and local authorities limit their cooperation with federal immigration enforcement agencies. Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey, a new federal immigration detention center which I visited Saturday, is part of their latest effort.
Once a halfway house, it is located on the outskirts of the Ironbound, a predominantly immigrant neighborhood—and it is where Newark’s Mayor was arrested last week for allegedly trespassing and ignoring warnings to leave the facility.
From my vantage point, as someone intimately familiar with its surroundings, Delaney Hall’s existence stands in opposition to the values of the very community where it is located, and the dissonance is staggering. I know this because I grew up a couple of miles from the facility, near Wilson Avenue, a busy thoroughfare teeming with immigrant-owned bakeries and coffee shops. My brother taught me to drive blocks from the building.
My visit there was unplanned, but after reading a handful of articles depicting how Mayor Baraka was arrested and detained, I needed to see it myself in order to understand that the danger it represents to my community is not only real but also imminent.
The first question in mind was: with the Trump Administration’s goals to bolster detention and deportation numbers, who will populate Delaney Hall? Will it be the very immigrants who live and work a mile down on Wilson Avenue?
The facility’s location matters and stands to systematically demoralize and wear down Newark, itself a sanctuary city whose mayor and local government have historically protected and celebrated immigrants. Operating an ICE detention facility where thousands of immigrants live and work is a psychological blow which unsurprisingly frightens the people of what is New Jersey’s largest city. Arresting and detaining Mayor Baraka could also be seen as an intimidation tactic aimed to deliver a larger message: In Trump’s America, dissent, whether at the state or local level, will come at a cost. Baraka, for instance, was held in custody for multiple hours. When finally released at 8 p.m. he told supporters “The reality is this: I didn’t do anything wrong.”
According to the Associated Press, Baraka’s arrest happened after he attempted to join three members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation, Reps. Robert Menendez, LaMonica McIver, and Bonnie Watson Coleman, in trying to enter the facility. In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said the group “stormed the gate and broke into the detention facility.”
Outside of Delaney Hall, I took in my surroundings. Several news crews set up their camera equipment a few feet away from me. ICE agents exited and entered the facility, keeping their faces covered at all times. I greeted and called to a few agents to see if they would speak to me, but they ignored me. I did manage to speak with Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill from the Democratic Party, who stood outside the facility talking to reporters.
“I’m very concerned about what we just saw yesterday. I’ve been opposed to private detention facilities. It’s against the law here in New Jersey to use private detention facilities for ICE detention,” she said. “We’re fighting that in court right now against the federal government. I’ve been working with the delegation, including on a letter led by Bonnie Watson Coleman to advocate against that and continue to remain opposed, and was very upset to see yesterday how members of Congress were treated.”
Sherrill continued, speaking about Mayor Ras Baraka. “I’m very glad he has been released but remain concerned that the police force that arrested him was largely unidentifiable,” said the Congresswoman. “We didn’t see insignia; we didn’t see names. Their faces were covered. And it seems as if they’re acting more in line with the political agenda than with the laws of the United States and the people they serve.”
Trump has long used language which dehumanizes immigrants, making it easier for the American people to accept and even support the unjustified arrest of a city mayor and gubernatorial candidate. Despite what the current administration may say, the overwhelming majority of immigrants in this country aren’t violent criminals. And recent deportation and detention efforts, carried out under the presumptive goal of targeting violent crime, are creating chaos in communities full of good, ordinary people.
Sanctuary cities like Newark and their elected public officials, such as Mayor Baraka, aren’t shielding violent offenders. Instead, they are ensuring that immigrants can be integrated into society by giving them an opportunity to live with dignity and to access upward mobility. These sanctuaries, like Newark, are communities where immigrants and the children of immigrants can live unencumbered by constant fear of persecution and deportation.
To live unencumbered by fear is to be given the opportunity to thrive. I know this from personal experience.
As a first-generation immigrant myself who came to the United States in late 2002 at age 14, I can’t imagine having arrived in a place more inclusive or appreciative of people like me. I attended a largely immigrant high school where most of us spoke either Spanish, Portuguese, Urdu, or Polish at home. Our teachers–many of them immigrants or first-generation Americans—held us to high expectations and served as living examples of what it’s like to thrive in this country.
Back then, as a newcomer struggling with a language barrier and learning to assimilate, I benefited from my city’s inherent belief that an immigrant like me deserved the opportunity to lead an ordinary and stable life.
We all need to feel like we belong somewhere. Cities like Newark provide immigrants with stability and a space where they don’t have to retreat into the shadows. They can be part of the communities where they reside, participate, and contribute without the threat of looming fear.
With Delaney Hall in their backyard, the people of Newark have one more reason to live in fear. It is very possible that this fear is the point—to overwhelm and stun democratic hubs into inaction and paralysis and eventually, compliance and submission, even if that means aggressively arresting their mayor.
The existence of Delaney Hall will only continue to spread fear and anxiety, forcing many immigrants to feel the need to withdraw from daily life, to hide at home because they don’t feel safe enough to go to work or send their children to school. These same fears could force the people of Newark to refrain from their right to protest and fight the injustices taking place in their own home.
Equally concerning is Mayor Baraka’s arrest: I fear it could normalize transgressions against dissenting members of the government. My worry: eventually, we may all feel the impact of an overreaching administration willing to abuse its power.
Mayor Baraka’s efforts should serve as an example to local leaders everywhere. Sanctuary cities like Newark need protection now more than ever. Their impact on immigrant lives is invaluable. Our country’s immigrant population deserves the opportunity to thrive, and our communities, whether populated by immigrants or citizens alike, deserve better.
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