RED BANK: COUNCIL, POLICE CHIEF ADDRESS ICE RAIDS

Adriana Medina Gomez, Red Bank’s director of Human Services and Recreation addresses the borough council. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)

By BRIAN DONOHUE

The Red Bank Mayor and Borough Council put their regular agenda briefly on hold Thursday night so police and borough officials could outline a series of programs and policies they hope will assure a community shaken by secretive recent street-corner federal immigration detentions.

“You know, this is, this is something that’s really unprecedented for the entire nation, and, you know, we need to come together as a community,’ said Red Bank Police Chief Mike Frazee.

Frazee’s address included a detailed description of how Red Bank Police officers are trained and operate under the state attorney general’s Immigrant Trust Directive, which limits local police departments’ cooperation with federal immigration agencies.

“We follow that to the T,” he said.

**Ice arrests a woman on Locust Avenue on January 6. ICE public affairs did not return emails seeking her identity or any information about the arrest.**

In recent weeks, an unknown number of residents have been carted off by masked agents in a series of operations that appear to be part of the Trump administration’s nationwide dragnet.

ICE has publicly identified just one, well-known landscaper Ricardo Paz, and only days after redbankgreen had already published an interview with him from the ICE detention center at Delaney Hall in Newark, where is being held.

Amid widespread fear and confusion, Mayor Billy Portman said the council held the impromptu briefing in response to requests from numerous residents asking the question: “What can I do?”

He began by giving out the phone number for the American Friends Serice Committee, whose Immigrant Rights Project in Red Bank is assisting the families of those detained. (The number is 973-474-9861). He also announced a Feb. 17 “All call” online event by AFSC residents can attend. More information is expected to be available on that soon.

Portman also thanked rapid responders who have captured recent arrests on video, while reminding the public to take such action “in a respectful way.” Because of the level of secrecy, video captured by bystanders is often the only way family members or the public can know who has been arrested.

Portman also encouraged residents to shop, dine and support businesses in the town’s largely Latino neighborhood along Shrewsbury Avenue and near the train station.

“People are just afraid to go out and those businesses are really suffering,” he said.

Red Bank Police Chief Mike Frazee and DIrector of Human Services and Recreation Adriana Medina Gomez share a lighter moment during the meeting of the Mayor and Borough Council. (Photos by Brian Donohue)

Director of Human Services and Recreation Adriana Medina Gomez outlined a series of borough programs, including increased Spanish language communication materials designed to “build trust” between residents and Borough Hall.

She also said an effort by the borough’s community engagement committee to meet with every business owner in town will begin on the west side.

The borough’s recreation department’s programs even play a role, she said, “creating moments of joy with everything going on.”

Frazee then addressed the council to discuss the nationally contentious topic of local police officers’ interaction with ICE’s masked squads.

“As the police chief, I share everyone’s frustration,’ he said. “I think we need to kind of come together to help our community feel more at ease.”

“I want to make it clear that officers follow the state Attorney General’s immigrant trust directive, which limits the assistance local agencies have with federal immigration authorities. “

The directive is aimed at making sure residents, regardless of immigration status, feel safe in calling the police to report crimes. Frazee said RBPD officers are trained annually in the tenets of the directive.

“I can honestly say, since I’ve been chief, and really, since I’ve been in the department, we’ve never participated in any immigration activities, really ever exchanged information with immigration or federal agents regarding someone’s immigration status,” he said. “But, you know, to touch on the Immigrant Trust Directive, this is something that has been in place for many years. And it was created to help keep the trust between law enforcement and the community as a whole.”

He continued: “We do not assist federal agents and rounding up people who have immigration status as suspects That’s something that we do not do. The directive was specifically built to build trust between the immigrant community and the local police department.  We want our residents to feel safe, to feel that they can come to the police department, to report any crimes or anything that’s going on in their community. If they want to be a cooperating witness..you want to keep that open, open dialogue, and make them feel safe, and that they can come to the police department.”

Frazee later remarked that the RBPD has never had any advance notice of when federal agents are making a bust or arrest in Red Bank.

“They just show up,” he said.

The position healthcare providers, schools and social service providers find themselves in was also addressed.

Deputy Mayor Kate Triggiano emphasized that AFSC had conducted training with local health care providers, schools and churches on how to handle situations if ICE shows up to detain people at their facilities.

In recent days, the superintendents of both the Red Bank Borough Public Schools and the Red Bank Regional High School districts have posted notices online or sent emails to parents and faculty addressing the issue.

According to redbankgreen‘s reporting, both districts have seen parents of students detained.

“New Jersey law provides strong protections for immigrant students, and we are fully committed to upholding them,” Red Bank Regional Superintendent Louis Moore wrote in a letter to parents Tuesday. “This includes strict limits on any interaction between federal immigration agencies and students while they are on school grounds, in transit to and from school, or participating in any school-sponsored activities.”

In addition to borough efforts, family members of Paz and another resident detained by ICE have set up GoFundMe campaigns to support their families and legal efforts.

The link for the fund drive set up by Paz’s family is here. Another, set up by RBR teacher Sarafina Mugavero for a former student, is here.

That effort, to assist a former student who had come to the US at age 14 and was recently detained by ICE, surpassed its $10,000 goal. It appears to have assisted in gaining her release from detention on bond Thursday night, according to a message on the GoFundme page.

The message posted by Mugavero reads: “These past months have taught us both a great deal about our current immigration systems, but more importantly, we’ve witnessed the powerful ways community organizations have stepped up to support families navigating these challenges. “

redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331.

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