Brendan Gill, President of the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders, condemns and denounces President Trump’s nationwide raids of thousands of undocumented migrant families.

“We should be welcoming, not targeting, asylum seekers who are fleeing the oppression and violence of their homelands and seeking a better future for themselves and their families in the United States.”

While President Trump states he is looking for the “bad players”, news reports signal the roundups of thousands nationwide will include “collateral” deportations – the removal of immigrants who happened to be on the scene even though they were not targets of the raids. “The planned separation of minor children from their parents, the detention of children and teenagers, and the fast-track deportation of those people making asylum claims is antithetical to what this country and its leadership should stand for.”

Essex County Law Enforcement Agencies will continue to abide and be guided by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Guidelines regarding federal immigration law enforcement activities.