Rally Planned At Newark ICE Office: Free Detainees, Families Say

NEWARK, NJ — Family members of federal ICE detainees and their supporters are planning to rally in front of the agency’s Newark field office on Thursday, organizers said.

According to a news release from the Abolish ICE NY-NJ coalition, the rally will take place at 4 p.m. at the ICE field office at 970 Broad Street in Newark. Participants should wear face masks, organizers said.

The rally is being held to demand the release of ICE detainees amid the coronavirus pandemic. Advocates are also calling for an end to transfers between facilities.

“While institutions like ICE want to dehumanize us and take us away from our communities, we will continue to fight back to tear down walls and jails and build a collective resistance,” said Haydi Torres, an organizer with Movimiento Cosecha NJ.

In recent weeks, dozens of detainees have participated in hunger strikes at the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark, the Bergen County Jail in Hackensack and the Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearny.

The hunger strikers have said they fear the possibility of catching COVID-19 while awaiting their immigration proceedings.

• See related article: Prison Hunger Strikes Continue In NJ As ICE Detainees Fear COVID

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