6 events in Passaic County with a date

Activists adjust to Trump's crackdown

Bringing first-aid kits to protests, just in case

By: Ricardo Kaulessar
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was accompanying New Jersey Democratic Representatives LaMonica McIver, Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez on a visit to the Delaney Hall immigrant detention center on May 9, [2025] seeking entry for what they said was routine congressional oversight.
..... What was a formal, legal visit to check on conditions inside the Newark factuality turned tense when federal officers holding PepperBall guns arrested Baraka on the orders of U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
..... Caught in the midst of the confrontation were staffers form the Montclair-based Asian American advocacy organization AAPI New Jersey, who were there to support the oversight visit and protest conditions at Delaney Hall, the first federally-run detention center to open in the second presidency of Donald Trump.
..... Amber Reed, the president of AAPI New Jersey, has never had to worry about herself or her members when they have protested in the past against the Trump administration's policies.
..... "It was very shocking for our staff who were there. It went from being a very peaceful action, somewhere where people were feeling safe because members of Congress were there," Reed said. "I think ICE has changed how we think about safety at these actions because they can escalate situations so unpredictably, so quickly, and they are so brutal in their tactics."
..... New Jerseyans dissenting against the Trump administration are finding themselves increasingly concerned about his calls to prosecute protesters. Activists now come prepared with first-aid kits and other precautions, but mostly it's a matter of summoning up the courage to face the threats of what many of them describe as authoritarian tactics.
..... Larry Hamm is the founder of the activist group People's Organization for Progress, A veteran of numerous protests in his native Newark, going back to the 1960s, Hamm said in an interview before a September 29 [2025] march in the city that he initially did not fear protesting the administration. However, Trump's actions over the past few months have sometimes given him pause.
..... "The second Trump administration is like the first, but on steroids," Hamm said. "It seems to me that the Trump administration is moving in a direction to try to silence or crack down on opposition."
..... Various officials at the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to request for comment for this story.
..... Trump has consistently railed against public dissent, a sentiment that dates back to his first presidency. During the Black Lives Matter protests in June 2020, Trump had inquired about shooting and threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy the U.S. military to states where protests broke out.
..... In recent weeks, Trump and members of his administration have threatened criminal investigations of protest groups and their donors, and the sue of the federal racketeering statute known as the RICO act, which has typically been applied to organize crime cases.
..... Last month, [09/2025] U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi posted a memo on X (formerly Twitter) ordering five federal law enforcement agents to deploy officers to guard U.S. Immigration and Customs enforcement (ICE) facilities nationwide and to crack down on anyone protesting outside them.
..... "Our officers will supporter all unlawful rioting and arrest any unsuspecting person suspected of threatening or assaulting a federal law enforcement officer or interfering with federal law enforcement operations," Bondi said.
..... Protests have been prevalent nationwide and in New Jersey since Trump returned to power in January. [2025] There have been large-scale actions such as the "No Kings" and "50501" protest, as well as smaller events, including the pro-Palestinian activists who confronted the president at a Washington, D.C. restaurant on September 9. [2025] In Newark, a group of individuals met daily for vigils i from of Delaney Hall.
..... Protesters outside the Broad view Processing Center, located in a suburb north of Chicago, were sprayed with pepper balls on September 26. [2025] in June, [2025] protesters clashed with ICE officers who shot pepper spray outside Delaney Hall while detainees inside were rioting over what advocates described as substandard conditions. Four detainees escaped amid the chaos.
..... Particularly, those who protested or gathered in front of privately-owned immigration detention facilities staffed by ICE employees have been confronted with force.

Protesting during Trump 2.0

..... Reed said that AAPI New Jersey, for the first time, has created a safety plan for protests.
..... "They are basic things like preparing for 'what if they deploy tear gas?' or 'what if they attacked us in some other way?' Read said "It's having some basic first-aid supplies like eye wash and that sort of thing with us. There's not going alone to these things, But a lot of it is doing the risk analysis beforehand, and just figuring out if the difference we make makes it worth taking on the risk that might be present."
..... Camila Guyasamin of Perth Amoby was part of a protest down Newark's Broad Street on September 29 [2025] that saw over 100 people walk past the federal building where filed offices for ICC and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration services are located. They were protesting the Trump administration's awarding of a $30 million contract to Palantir Technologies to develop software used to track people who plan to self-deport, those who have overstayed their visas and alleged gang members.
..... Guyasamin, a naturalized citizen originally from Ecuador, and declined to be photographed for this story. However, she said she felt it was essential to make a show of opposition to the Trump administration.
..... "At the end of the day, it is taking a risk of putting yourself out there to fight for [immigrant] rights," Guayasamin said. "I am very privileged to have citizenship status. So I'm given that privilege and being able to march more calmly than many people who may be undocumented."
..... At Delaney hall, a few miles away form downtown Newark, immigrant advocates have gathered daily near the building's entrance to hold a vigil for detainees ans support people visitant those relatives often have to contend with demeaning treatment from security guards at the center.
..... Paula Rogovin, a veteran activist who travels often form he Teaneck home to Delaney Hall, said she continues to come despite fears of backlash form security following Trump administration orders. She said she feels for how family members are made to sand out outside for hours, especially in inclement weather.
..... Of course, we're worried, but we can't let that stop us. If we're silent, if we lay low because we;re worried, then we will have fascism," Rogvin said.
..... Kathy O'Leary, regional coordinator for the faith-based group Pax Christi New Jersey, has also been standing vigil outside Delaney Hall. She concurred with Rogovin about the importance of helping those impacted by the government's immigration policies.
..... "I've been doing this for too long to go underground," O'Leary said. "So, my only choice is to get louder."

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