On January 11th at 10:15 am, several ICE agents raided Willmar Laundromat on Speedwell Ave. in Morristown, NJ. The laundromat is one of several small businesses alongside Pan Casero Bakery and serves as a cultural hub for its residents in this predominantly Latino community. Of those arrested, one, now released on U.S. District Judge Evelyn Padin’s order, was a 17-year-old Morristown High School senior, taken while doing his laundry. The Department of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has yet to comment on the arrests, although Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that it was all part of “routine immigration enforcement actions”.
The arrests sparked a communal uproar. On January 17th, protestors congregated peacefully outside of Morristown’s Town Hall with signs displaying messages like “ICE Out Now” and “Deport Racists”. Morristown’s mayor, Tim Dougherty, criticized ICE’s actions, stating, “Morristown is a community built by generations of immigrants, and our diversity is one of our greatest strengths. Actions like this create fear and uncertainty for families who contribute every day to our schools, businesses, and neighborhoods.” Other critics include the local Catholic church, St. Margaret’s pastor, Father Duberney Villamizer who said, “The church is with them” in a show of online support, and NJ Senator Cory Booker, who condemned the raid and stated, “DHS and ICE are out of control. A reformed immigration system, built on dignity and justice, is possible. However, an ICE detention center–– whether in Roxbury or anywhere else–– won’t bring us closer to that goal, nor will haphazard, indiscriminate ICE actions that target our immigrant neighbors.”
Despite garnering national attention with such protests, the Morristown community, specifically its immigrant population, remains shaken, with many local businesses being reportedly empty, according to the owner of Pan Casero Bakery, Flavio Malo, who spoke to Insider NJ and who lamented, “Bad for business, bad for people.”
As many grapple with how to move forward, the event’s proximity to Mendham renders it an influence on the school’s community, a fact that Ms. Meagher, principal of Mendham High, addressed in an interview conducted via email with The Patriot. When asked about the school’s approach to the topic going forward, she responded by saying: “Our focus remains on teaching, learning, and supporting students academically and socially. While students may hear or read about issues beyond our school community, those external matters have not changed how we function as a school or how we support our students day to day.” She emphasized that despite the outside events of the political world, Mendham High would remain a constant in the lives of its students, committed to maintaining its role as to “provide a stable, safe, and predictable learning environment for all students”, stressing the importance of open communication and conversation for students going forward.
Since then, looking to the national stage, public opinion has continued to fall on the actions of ICE, with 65% of Americans now saying that ICE has “gone too far” in its enforcement of immigration laws, up from 54% this past June, according to this survey conducted by Marist University. This statistic comes following the homicides of protesters and civilians Reneé Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, who were fatally shot by ICE agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in isolated incidents, sending shockwaves throughout the nation.
As February has progressed, there have been no more reported ICE sightings or activity in the Morristown area or in the surrounding towns throughout the county, although the Department of Homeland Security announced in the week of February 19th that they had recently purchased a warehouse property in Roxbury, NJ, to be converted into another immigration detention center. Senator Cory Booker commented in a statement following uproar within the Roxbury community, saying, “These facilities have no place in our communities. This is not a partisan issue, and Gov. Sherrill shares the serious concerns of the Roxbury community – including the Republican members of the town council who voted unanimously in opposition to this facility.” Members of Roxbury Township’s leadership had unanimously passed a resolution disallowing the opening of such a facility last month, in January.
While the future remains uncertain for many immigrant communities in Morris County and throughout the state and country, it appears the take-home going forward is that the Mendham High School community remains secure and unchanged, as indicated by Mrs. Meagher: “Our focus is on supporting families and educating all students in our Mendham community.”
