Highland Park holds “Families Together March,” Tues. July 9^th, to protest family separations

The Human Relations Commission and the Commission on Immigrant and Refugee Affairs of Highland Park, working with area immigrant rights advocacy organizations, is sponsoring a “Families Together March” on Tuesday July 9^th to bring attention to the plight of immigrant families separated by the federal government.

Participants in the march will assemble at the Irving School Playground, 121 South 11^th Ave, at 6 pm. The march will begin at 6:30 pm, traveling from Woodbridge Ave to Highland Park Borough Hall at 220 South 5^th Ave.

Scheduled speakers at the march include;

• Highland Park Mayor Gayle Brill Mittler;
• Pastor Seth Kaper-Dale, spiritual leader of the Reformed Church of Highland Park and a nationally recognized advocate on behalf of immigrants and refugees;
• Ashton Burrell, chair of the Highland Park Human Relations Commission; and
• Cloyd Edralin, a Filipino immigrant and green card holder who lives in Highland Park. Cloyd was separated from his family and detained for four months in an ICE facility in Elizabeth.

At the assembly point at Borough Hall, march organizers will circulate petitions demanding more humane treatment of immigrants and refugees and share opportunities for activism on this fundamental humanitarian issue.

“You’d think it would be obvious, no matter what your political views are, that keeping families together is better for them and better for all concerned,” said Mayor Gayle Brill Mittler.  “Sadly, in our country, at this time, this is not the case. I’m participating in this march because any family separated by the government is a break in the fabric of the community of Highland Park. And that is completely unacceptable.”

“People think that family separations, repugnant as they are, only happen at our country’s southern border,” said John Wenz. “It’s happening here too. The ICE detention center in Elizabeth often houses families separated by the federal government. And Highland Park residents, like those caught in a surprise raid in January 2018, have been subject to family separations. This is unacceptable! We can all agree – keeping families together is essential to the health of the children, the parents, and our communities.”

“Highland Park is all about inclusion and concern for all citizens; family separations give a black eye to both of those goals,” said Ashton Burrell, Chair of the Highland Park Human Relations Commission. “If we’re serious about supporting all our people, especially those from other countries, we have to protest these inhumane family separations.”

The Borough of Highland Park is grateful to the Reformed Church of Highland Park, the New Brunswick Area Chapter of the NAACP, Lazos America Unida, and the Central Jersey Coalition Against Endless War for their assistance in organizing and promoting this march.