Jersey City residents gathered in front of City Hall this afternoon to denounce the fatal shooting of Renee Good by a U.S. Immigration ad Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minnesota, as well as to support the passage of the Immigrant Trust Act in Trenton.
By Dan Israel/Hudson County View
The rally was organized by Spirits of Liberty (SOL) Jersey City, in conjunction with the North New Jersey Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Knitty Gritty JC, Estamos Unidos, CAIR Action NJ, Party for Socialism and Liberation NJ, and Food Not Bombs JC.
“When immigrant rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up fight back,” “Money for jobs and education, not for war and deportation,” “Say it loud, say it twice, we do not put up with ICE,” “No fear, no hate, no ICE in our state,” and “La gente es cucha estamos en la lucha,” the crowd of hundreds chanted throughout the demonstration.
SOL organizer Paul Jaigua, who emceed the event, pointed out that the U.S. military is patrolling American cities with ICE and its multi-billion dollar budget including New York City, Chicago, and Atlanta, also keeping an eye on other sanctuary cities like Jersey City.
He asserted that Good died defending her immigrant neighbors, a Good Samaritan now being likened to a criminal by the Trump Administration, and called for the community to protect each other.
“We’ve seen federal agents going after visa and green card holders, people doing it the right way,” he said.
“Residents have been caught up in this wide net as well. From Mahmoud Khalil, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, people who were targeted by the White House, not just through propaganda, but through detention for weeks, months on end … This is fascism right in the open. Are we going to put up with that? No.”
Jersey City Mayor-elect James Solomon said that Good was murdered as a result of Trump’s authoritarianism, which is happening not only in Minnesota, across the entire country, including New Jersey.
“When you flood peaceful communities with poorly trained, masked agents of the regime, this is what happens. And it wasn’t just the ICE agent who murdered Renee Good. It is the responsibility of Kristi Noem and Donald Trump because we knew this was going to happen,” Solomon exclaimed.
He later announced that his first act as mayor will be to strengthen those very protections by signing an executive order mandating training across all of Jersey City as to “what it means to be a sanctuary city.”
“This is a campaign to drive terror among immigrant communities and to assert white power across this country,” Solomon added.
“And we are going to stand up and fight back … In America’s Golden Door, the home of Ellis Island, we will proudly say each and every day, that the immigrant communities of Jersey City make us better. And we will have their back because they have our backs.”
DSA organizer Carissa Cunningham called for a rejection of ICE aggression as the new normal, noting that socialists not only want ICE abolished, but a government that works for all not just for the few.
She urged residents to protect their neighbors like Good and take back resources and turn them into “life-giving institutions” instead of “an imperial war machine and a fascist prison system.”
Born in Honduras, Ward B Councilman-Elect Joel Brooks said that migrants come to this country in part due to the exploitation they face at home.
He said that in his home country, the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) allows multinational corporations to pay workers less than the Honduran minimum wage.
Brooks also said a Ward B father and union member was recently deported and shared part of his story, vowing to work alongside the incoming council and administration to strengthen sanctuary city protections.
“He told me, ‘I came here to build, not to destroy. And he was deported. So these are the people that ICE is picking up, abducting, kidnapping, and deporting,” he reflected.
Ward D Councilman-Elect Jake Ephros underscored the importance of showing solidarity with Good and those attacked by ICE, including Heights families.
He recalled how he and other protestors aided hunger-striking ICE detainees at the Hudson County Correctional facility before the contract was phased out, highlighting how demonstrations led to that outcome and will be key to abolishing ICE.
“If you have ever asked yourself, ‘what would I do if I lived in times where the right wing was ascendant, where fascism was on the rise … where a police state were starting to come after my neighbors, what would I do?’” Ephros questioned.
“We’re living in that now. That is today. And we have to do what we’re doing right now which is speaking out, organizing together, and saying, ICE, you are not welcome here in Jersey City. They can get the hell out of Jersey City.”
District 5 Hudson County Commissioner candidate Ron Bautista said that many residents are living in fear of being snatched away by ICE.
He called for local officials to lead the way against ICE, not only by refusing to work with them but also to prevent these federal abductions, and for the public to remain organized and engaged with each other.
“My dad, may he rest in peace, his fear back then was like, he would tell me, ‘It’s not that they’ll … just send me home, is that they’ll put me in jail first, that they’ll treat me like a criminal when all I wanted to do was to give a good future for my kids, my wife, for my family,’” he declared.
“And really, it’s also showing this wasn’t just an issue with immigrants, that they’re coming for everyone, and that our neighbors have to feel not just our support like they do today, they have to feel also the support from local government.
Assemblyman-Elect (LD-32) and outgoing Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla reiterated Solomon’s pledge to strengthen sanctuary city protections as his first act as mayor, recalling he made a similar move deeming the Mile Square City a fair and welcoming community.
“When we fight on the streets, when fight at the city council, when we fight at the county commissioner’s office, when we fight at the state legislature, when we fight at the U.S. Congress, we will make change and we will abolish ICE eventually,” Bhalla concluded.
“It doesn’t matter what your status is, whether you’re documented or undocumented, the U.S. Constitution says that everyone in this country, when you touch foot on this soil, you have equal rights under the law. That’s the American way. So with that, I want to say keep on fighting.”
Assemblywoman-Elect (LD-32) Katie Brennan called for justice for Good and vowed to keep pushing for the abolition of ICE and the passage of the Immigrant Trust Act in Trenton next week. She challenged everyone to do what they can do to hold ICE accountable.
“We can be mad, we can be scared, but we cannot be stopped: We will not stop until ICE is out of JC.”
Ward E Councilwoman-Elect Eleana Little read the names of those who have died recently at the hands of ICE.
She also called out how the federal agency has been operating as a rogue paramilitary force, from snatching people off the street into unmarked vehicles, to arresting people at their legal asylum hearings, to shooting a mother of three in the face killing her.
State Senator Raj Mukherji (D-32) and another organizer from SOL only identified as Shiryn closed out the rally.
Americans need protection against these lunatics who think that its citizens want to see more rapists, murderers, pedophiles and Drug Cartel criminals in the country.
No, we don’t.
The president is a pedophile. His SecDef is a drunk. His HHS sec is a deranged junkie. And his DHS sec is a dog killing sadist.
Let’s start with deporting them.
If you do not like the law there are ways for you to change it, but whatever you do, do not listen to the loudmouth instigators and go out and directly confront these people enforcing the law, you liable to get hurt. You will notice the agitators never ever put their own necks at risk and always keep a safe distance from any harm.