N.J. immigrant support groups are scrambling to help the growing number of immigrants picked up in ICE quota raids

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As part of a mass deportation effort, the Trump administration has directed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, in an internal briefing, to increase the number of immigrant arrests from a few hundred to at least 1,200 a day, marking a sharp increase in enforcement efforts.

That means the New Jersey ICE field office is expected to make a minimum of 75 daily arrests, according to a Washington Post report.

Erik Cruz Morales, policy and advocacy manager for the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, said the directive almost certainly means more false accusations and arrests of people who have not committed any crime.

“Folks are terrified of going to work, of dropping their kids off at school, going to doctors’ appointments, seeking social services that they need,” he said.

He said when someone is arrested in an ICE raid, they are taken to the Elizabeth Contract Detention Facility and processed, but family members frequently don’t know what has happened to their loved one.

“For example, if somebody gets picked up today, you’re not going to be able to find them in the system until two or three days later, and by that time they could be at another facility or another place,” Morales said.

Araceli Argueta, organizing and advocacy director for the American Friends Service Committee’s Immigrant Rights program, said if an immigrant is taken into custody, the Constitution guarantees they have certain rights.

“They have the right to make a call, they have the right to an attorney, to have representation, and that representation to be facilitated for a due process,” she said.

However, she noted that immigrants are sometimes not given these rights.

“Right now, what we are doing is we are collecting all the data from people that have been detained, and we get the information, and we ask for an intake interview with these people who have been detained,” Argueta said.

Morales said many immigrants that are picked up in ICE raids aren’t aware they have any rights.

“You have the right to remain silent, not speak to an ICE officer, you have the right to not allow ICE agents into your home or into your business,” he said.

He added that when 10 or 15 armed ICE agents show up at the front door, many people get intimidated and scared.

White House “border czar” Tom Homan has repeatedly stated that ICE operations are focusing on going after immigrants who are wanted killers and gang members with criminal records, but Morales insisted many people who have been picked up in sweeps are not criminals.

“A lot of innocent people in a lot of communities are going to be hurt by this,” he said. “It’s going to erode the trust communities have in government.”

He urged New Jersey lawmakers to pass proposed legislation called the Immigrant Trust Act, which would create privacy protections for immigrant communities.

Argueta pointed out that some immigrants picked up in sweeps are being deported immediately, but everyone should be given due process and have the opportunity for legal representation.

She said it’s dangerous to create a narrative that immigrants pose a danger to this country.

“We are trying to build communities, we are trying to drive up everybody else in this country,” she said. “Everybody deserves to be treated with dignity, we are trying to build a society that is good for all of us.”

She noted immigrants arrested by ICE do not have the right to have a public defender the way criminals do, but they can request a list of local attorneys or free legal service providers that are available.