USAupdated 1h ago2 min read
ICE Used Roxbury, New Jersey Warehouse To Process 14 Detainees Despite Court Order
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ICE admitted using a Roxbury, NJ warehouse to process immigrants on two occasions in September. Officials say detainees were processed in violation of a court order.
Estrella’s decade in systems
Maria Hinojosa said Estrella Diamantina González was arrested by immigration agents inside a courtroom soon after President Trump’s inauguration in February of 2017, when Estrella was in El Paso to get an order of protection against an abusive boyfriend. Hinojosa said ICE and Border Patrol told journalists, “No, we didn’t — we didn’t — we didn’t take anybody from a courtroom in a courthouse.” Hinojosa said Estrella served a nine-year sentence in a Texas men’s prison, was released this summer, was immediately transferred to an immigration detention facility, and was then deported.
Hinojosa said she followed Estrella to Mexico City and described “the first time when Estrella and I hugged for the first time in almost a decade.” Estrella González told Hinojosa in Mexico City, “I did not feel Mexico’s hug, OK?”
Roxbury warehouse processing
ICE acknowledged using a warehouse in Roxbury, New Jersey to process immigrants after arresting them, and the office of Rep. Analilia Mejia shared an email from ICE officials about “initial processing.”
Gothamist reported that ICE officials said that on two occasions in September agents brought detainees to the parking lot of the facility for “initial processing,” and that at no point were the detainees brought into the warehouse on the property.
Rep. Analilia Mejia said, “DHS has finally admitted what we suspected all along: ICE used the Roxbury property to process and stage detainees on multiple occasions.”
Michael Symons, a spokesperson for the state attorney general, said officials are “aware of and looking into these concerns.”
Court order, 14 detainees
The Morris County NJ News report said the federal government’s congressional liaison letter told Mejia that the field office conducted a raid in Dover on Sept. 4 and brought nine people to the parking lot in Roxbury for “initial processing.”
The Morris County NJ News report said a similar situation occurred on Sept. 8 after five arrests in Dover and Ledgewood, and it said officers were told on Sept. 14 not to use the Roxbury site.
TAPinto Roxbury said the admission disclosed Tuesday confirmed “14 detainees were involved in the two incidents,” and it said federal authorities maintained the detainees were processed in the warehouse parking lot, not inside the building.
Gothamist said the Trump administration is fighting New Jersey state officials in court to transform the facility into a 1,500-person detention center, and it said the New Jersey attorney general’s office told Gothamist it would pursue legal action if it determined ICE violated the court order.
Gothamist quoted Mejia saying, “Let me be clear: This was no accident. ICE officers deliberately used this location, conducted processing operations with supervisory knowledge.”