Credit: New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice

In New Jersey, noncitizen immigrant families and individuals fear using healthcare facilities, libraries or shelters, worried that they could be deported, say advocates.

In one instance, a father was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after signing his son up for state health insurance, according to Ami Kachalia of ACLU NJ. Kachalia said the tip came from an employee from the agency that manages state insurance applications. The man’s wife happened to have a severe infection on her Cesarean section incision, but they weren’t able to make it to the hospital.

“Unbeknownst to them, an (ICE) van was monitoring their house and agents arrived to detain them as soon as they left their home,” Kachalia wrote in an op-ed.

A bill called the Values Act would prevent agencies from sharing a person’s immigration status with ICE unless required by law. Immigrant rights and social justice groups rallied at the State House on Thursday to push for the passage of the Values Act (A-1986/S-512). While a slew of bills were heard before Assembly and Senate committees that day, the Values Act was not one of them. It has not moved since it was first introduced in 2021.

“At a time of a medical emergency, ICE obstructed a family due to a tip given to law enforcement from a state agency,” said Kachalia at Thursday’s rally. “This policy is needed to protect the rights and privacy of New Jersey children, families and individuals.”

In an earlier interview with NJ Spotlight News, the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice Executive Director Amy Torres said that New Jersey has made “progress making sure that ICE detention cannot further proliferate in the state.” But the state needs to do more, they said.

“We haven’t solved for ICE arrests, and ICE largely arrests people because they’re combing for information that allows them to find where people are and arrest them,” Torres said.

ICE dives deep into data

How ICE uses databases to find information on immigrants has been controversial among immigrant and privacy rights advocates. Whether they have direct or shared access to local and state databases, use data brokers to buy information on individuals, use customs violations subpoenas or are given a tip, their reach is extensive.

“ICE also has a really far reach into state databases, so they can comb state-collected data for information that informs where and when they should do things like immigration raids or immigration sweeps. That’s really concerning,” Torres said.

And the impact of that can be life-threatening or life-altering, say advocates. In one story shared by Torres’s organization, an 11-year-old child has “avoided school physicals due to fear of deportation.” Another story shared by the group told how a North Brunswick resident was detained after he was pulled over for making the wrong turn at a traffic light. The man was deported, and his whole family had to “upend their lives in New Jersey and leave the country.” 

Although the Values Act has been sponsored by over 20 state politicians, it is among several other social justice bills that are stalled in the Legislature. While the legislative calendar is not over yet, the clock is ticking before the traditional summer recess following the July 1 budget deadline.

Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex) and Senate President Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) have the power to determine which bills move in a Legislature controlled by Democrats. “The Speaker is aware of the legislation and will give it thoughtful consideration,” said Coughlin’s spokesperson Maggie Gabarino. Scutari’s office declined comment.

Advocates, though, hope that the bill is passed expeditiously, since they say families’ livelihoods are on the line.

“New Jersey is a leader in expanding services for all immigrant communities,” said Awinna Martinez, policy director at New Jersey Policy Perspective, while at the rally. “But now, we need to give children and families access to these services without the fear of deportation.”