Less than a month away from President-elect Trump’s inauguration, members of Princeton’s immigrant community and activists are preparing for potential changes to immigration policies, navigating a mix of fear, uncertainty, and resolve. State politicians are also preparing, hosting conversations and panels with these groups.
During his campaign, Trump promised stricter U.S. immigration policies — including mass deportation — building on measures from his first term. In Princeton, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid conducted last summer led to at least one arrest, and documents obtained by the ACLU in November indicate that federal authorities are considering establishing an immigrant detention center in Trenton.
Based in Princeton and Trenton, immigrant rights organization Resistencia en Acción is currently focusing on “creating spaces,” like housing for Dreamers, and providing legal aid for community members.
“We’ve gotten over the lamenting part,” Ana Paola Pazmiño, the director of Resistencia en Acción, told The Daily Princetonian. “We’ve got to roll up our sleeves and get to work,” she continued. “We need to have that energy of not so much crisis, but vigilance.”
Weeks after the election, Pazmiño, alongside other community leaders, joined a call with Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) to discuss the future of immigrant rights in New Jersey. According to Pazmiño, Resistencia en Acción also hopes to meet with Mayor Freda and town council members to address strategies for preventing mass arrests and to secure safe housing for immigrants.
“We’re also going to be responding to local and state legislation that is going to be at risk,” Pazmiño said, adding that Resistencia is lobbying alongside other advocacy groups for the Immigrant Trust Act. “If we don’t have a plan on how to either protect somebody or how we’re going to be moving forward with our ‘Know Your Rights’ training, then we’re going to be left with fear and not know where to go,” she continued. Know Your Rights training teaches immigrants their constitutional rights and coaches them on how to interact with police and ICE agents.
Princeton Mutual Aid and Students for Prison Education, Abolition, and Reform (SPEAR) are both organizations focused on mobilizing volunteers and collaborating with groups such as Resistencia en Acción.
“We’re really bracing ourselves,” Fatima Mughal, a founding member of Princeton Mutual Aid, said. Princeton Mutual Aid is focusing on establishing a rapid response and community defense system to immediately assist immigrants in the face of ICE raids. According to Mughal, that community defense system includes an ICE raid alert system and efforts to locate and reunite families after the raids.
“The other piece of community defense,” Mughal said, “is making sure that all community members — documented and undocumented — are empowered and know what our rights are, because a lot of times we think that there’s nothing we can do, or we don’t understand the limitations of what ICE is and isn't able to do.”
On campus, Arman Nemati ’27, the head of SPEAR’s immigration committee, noted that the group intends to continue assisting with asylum applications and working on the ICE Out of Princeton campaign. “We’re really trying our best to mobilize students and get students involved in a lot of ways,” Nemati said.
“It’s incredibly important for everyone in Princeton, including University students, to understand and recognize the essential roles that immigrants play in keeping the town functioning,” Mughal noted.
State politicians are holding conversations where people can ask questions about what a Trump presidency means for immigration policy.
In a Thursday night panel held at the Nassau Presbyterian Church, titled “State of Protection,” N.J. State Sen. Andrew Zwicker asked panelists about the future of immigration and healthcare in the state.
“We have to take [Trump’s] threats seriously,” N.J. Attorney General Matthew Platkin said during the panel, noting that Trump is calling for mass deportation on day one of his administration. “We’re better prepared today than we were eight years ago, in orders of magnitude.”
Amol Sinha, the executive director of the ACLU in New Jersey, noted the uniquely strong relationship between New Jersey’s ACLU and Platkin’s office.
“I think New Jersey, as a result, has this opportunity to be a true ‘firewall for freedom,’ where we can insulate our residents from the worst attacks of the Trump administration,” he said.
“With respect to immigration, the conversation should alarm people,” Platkin said, arguing that Trump’s narrative on deportations has focused on public safety. He said that his office is already working on removing people who have committed serious crimes.
“When you try to use that narrative to do things that’s going to hurt our economy and hurt the safety of our residents, and undermine people’s rights and ways that violate the law, yeah, we’re ready to step up and stand up for them,” Platkin continued. “We’re not talking about murderers. No one is fighting [Trump] on that. We’re talking about people who only know this country, who live here, who work here, who pay taxes here, and who are our neighbors and who we are proud to stand up for.”
Sena Chang is a News contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Charlie Roth is a senior News editor, assistant Data editor, and education director for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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