NEWARK, NJ —One by one, the car horns blared in a syncopated chorus near the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark. But it wasn't a traffic jam that inspired the ruckus on Doremus Avenue last week.

On Wednesday, a coalition of civil rights groups organized a vehicle-only protest in New Jersey's most populated city, demanding the release of all federal immigrant detainees imprisoned in the Garden State during the coronavirus crisis.

It was an attempt to save lives, activists say.

Activists targeted two local hot spots of activity by Immigration and Customs Enforcement: the Peter Rodino Federal Building on Broad Street, which houses an ICE field office, and the Essex County Correctional Facility, which houses a mix of immigrant detainees and inmates.

The protest took place despite a recent mayoral order for the entire city to shelter in place and avoid all nonessential travel to slow the spread of COVID-19.

It wasn't long before the Essex County sheriff's officers showed up, activists said.

Taking care to practice safe social distancing, the protesters rounded up about 20 cars and began circling the two facilities just before rush hour, laying on their horns in a show of solidarity. ( Watch a video taken at the scene )

Several drivers were pulled over and given tickets. Others had their license plate numbers jotted down and faced "harassment," according to Jay Arena, a member of Jobs and Equal Rights for All and Resist the Deportation Machine, two of the groups involved in the protest.

Why did they do it? Ironically, to safeguard public health, Arena told Patch.

"People's lives are on the line," Arena said. "And the only way we can change that is by exercising our First Amendment rights, which we were doing. First Amendment rights and protecting public health are not in contradiction to each other ... they're inseparable."

"Here's the thing," Arena said. "One of the most dangerous threats to public health in New Jersey are these prisons. We're working to protect public health by demanding that [ICE detainees] are freed. But the police came down on us nonetheless."

See related article: Stuck In Jail During A Pandemic; Coronavirus Hits NJ Prisons

Other groups involved in Wednesday's protest included Action 21, Cosecha NJ, Green Party NJ, DIRE, Close the Camps NJ, Never Again Action, New Sanctuary Coalition, NJ5 Indivisible, North Jersey Democratic Socialists of America, Pax Christi NJ and Unitarian Universalist Faith Action.



The Essex County Sheriff's Office didn't respond to a request for comment about last week's drive-by protest in Newark. We'll update this article with any reply we receive.

Story continues below



NEWARK: A CITY ON LOCKDOWN



As of Monday morning, there have been 1,458 cases of COVID-19 in Newark, with 46 deaths connected to the disease, according to Essex County officials. Newark's totals are – by a wide berth – the highest in the entire county.

City officials haven't been shy about using legal mechanisms to battle the spread of the virus.

On March 10, Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose warned residents that any "false reporting" of the coronavirus in the city will result in criminal prosecution.

"We are putting forth every investigative effort to identify anyone making false allegations on social media, to ensure that any posted misinformation is immediately addressed," Ambrose said.

See related article: Newark Police Say False Alarms On Coronavirus Will Be Prosecuted

On March 25, Mayor Ras Baraka announced that the entire city is being ordered to shelter in place, a declaration similar to Gov. Phil Murphy's "stay-at-home" order.

"We have to take this situation very, very seriously," Baraka said. "The majority of our residents understand this and are following the rules. But some are not and continue to congregate on the streets and not maintain proper social distance. Those people are putting their own health at risk, as well everyone they come into contact with."

"It's dangerous, and it has to stop," the mayor emphasized.

Barring a few exceptions such as emergencies, doing essential shopping or visiting the doctor, all Newark residents must stay in their homes. Public gatherings and nonessential businesses have been shut down, and an 8 p.m. curfew is in effect.

See related article: Entire City Of Newark Told To Shelter In Place For Coronavirus

On March 31, Newark officials upped the ante, launching a joint coronavirus "lockdown" with the city's neighboring Essex County municipalities of Orange, East Orange and Irvington.

All nonessential and non-emergency travel is barred on the streets of these communities for the duration of the lockdown, which is due to be reassessed Tuesday. Residents of the four cities are being told to stay at home and come out for "emergency purposes only." Those who don't will face summonses, officials said.

See related article: Massive Coronavirus 'Lockdown' In 4 Essex County Cities

Despite the city's shelter-in-place status and repeated warnings from police, throngs of residents and local businesses continue to defy the lockdown, authorities say.

Now, police are done giving out warnings.

On Monday, the Newark Department of Public Safety announced that the city has issued 824 summonses for violations of the executive order. In addition, officials shut down 44 nonessential businesses last week.

"Educating the public about the executive order is an important first step, but when individuals and businesses blatantly violate the order aimed at keeping people safe, we have to execute enforcement," Ambrose said.

Many Newark residents have enthusiastically supported the city's actions.

"May God bless each of you and your families and keep you all safe at all times," wrote a reader, replying to a Patch article about the four-city lockdown. "We appreciate your strong leadership in keeping us safe as we also do our part in abiding by your guidelines."

"I thank you all for doing this," another Newark resident wrote. "We have to work and stay together because we need each peace and love. Be safe out there."

But other people living in Newark have questioned whether the police response to the coronavirus crisis has been too heavy-handed.

"I've received reports of police circling around neighborhoods … housing complexes," Anthony Díaz, a co-founding organizer of the Newark Water Coalition, said last week.

"It doesn't seem like a health issue, it seems like a military quarantine," Díaz alleged.

See related article: Newark Activist, Green Party Candidate Discuss Coronavirus Crisis

Help Protect Your Neighbors By Reporting COVID-19 Safety Violations https://t.co/iAMgVavMvy via @Nextdoor pic.twitter.com/X9wysElAti

— Dept. Public Safety (@NewarkNJPolice) April 2, 2020

ICE DETAINEES IN NJ: 'SITTING DUCKS'



According to the organizers of last week's drive-by protest, there are times when people have to do what's right, even if it means defying a ban on "nonessential travel."

The other option – turning their backs on family members, friends and neighbors at risk of dying in prison from the coronavirus – is out of the question, they say.

"People are sick," said a woman whose husband is being detained at the Essex County Correctional Facility. "They're coughing. They have fevers. Dozens are packed into open dorms with bunks head-to-head. They aren't even given Tylenol for their symptoms. When their fevers get high, they're just moved to another part of the facility."

Kathy O'Leary, a state coordinator for Pax Christi in New Jersey, said many immigrant detainees are using the same language to describe their situation.



"They call themselves 'sitting ducks,'" O'Leary said.

See related article: More Coronavirus At Essex County Prison; Activists Keep Up Outcry

The new coronavirus has begun digging a foothold in New Jersey's prisons, including the county-run jails in Essex, Bergen and Hudson, which each get paid to house hundreds of federal ICE detainees awaiting deportation proceedings.

It's not just inmates who are at risk, advocates charge. Staff, their families and the people who live around the prisons are also endangered by keeping detainees in jail, they say.

In Newark, which is home to an ICE field office that helps to deport hundreds of undocumented immigrants a month, the issue is especially urgent. As of Monday, 16 correctional officers and two ICE detainees at the Essex County Correctional Facility have tested positive for COVID-19.

There are currently 542 ICE detainees at the facility, which also houses 1,187 inmates. Essex County officials said that 85 detainees and inmates are being held in special COVID-19 quarantine units.

As the new coronavirus continues to spread in New Jersey's jails, the argument to release at-risk ICE detainees has begun to pick up steam among federal officials.

Last week, ICE agreed to release two people with serious medical conditions from the Essex County Correctional Facility after the ACLU of New Jersey and the national ACLU filed an emergency motion in federal court on their behalf.

On March 26, a U.S. District Court judge ordered the immediate release of 10 people with "chronic medical conditions" detained by ICE in Hudson, Bergen and Essex County. The order came after New York-based Brooklyn Defender Services filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus on their behalf in the Southern District of New York.

See related article: Judge Orders Release Of 10 ICE Detainees In NJ Amid Coronavirus

PROTEST IN ESSEX COUNTY DURING CORONAVIRUS



While some activists in Essex County have been keeping busy in the streets, other groups have chosen to postpone in-person protests during the coronavirus crisis.

On Monday, the Newark-based People's Organization for Progress announced that its members will be indefinitely suspending one of the longest-running protest series in the state, their anti-police brutality "Justice Mondays."

The weekly rally has been faithfully observed for more than four years – rain or shine – at the Peter Rodino Federal Building every Monday until two weeks ago.

"We want everyone to be safe," said founding chairman Lawrence Hamm, a U.S. Senate candidate in 2020. "We'll look at it again when conditions return to normal."

In West Essex, members of Roseland Against the Compressor Station (RACS) have decided to stop their usual monthly demonstration in front of the Williams/Transco natural gas facility on Eagle Rock Avenue.

"We may do one in May, but it will depend on the status of the pandemic in New Jersey," RACS member Ted Glick said.

For now, the group is focusing on spreading an online petition and planning an Earth Day-themed Zoom conference call about the Empower New Jersey coalition, Glick said.

FIRST AMENDMENT VS. CORONAVIRUS: WHICH WINS?

Do people have the constitutional right to protest during a viral outbreak? It depends, according to Louis Raveson, a professor at Rutgers Law School.

Raveson told Patch that even though the First Amendment is highly prized, the government has the power to overcome it when there's a "compelling interest" that outweighs it. And right now, a very strong argument can be made that there's good cause to stop crowds from forming — for any reason.

"I believe that [government bodies] have the power to require people to stay in their homes in order not to pass on this virus," Raveson said. "In my mind, it's pretty clear that they have the power to stop crowds from gathering in order to protect the same interests."

However, organizers managed to think outside the box when it came to their drive-by protest, the professor opined.

"It seems to me in this time of crisis, it was a brilliant idea to stage a demonstration by driving cars, as opposed to gathering next to each other," Raveson said. "It seems to me that's constitutionally protected activity. Having said that, even constitutionally protected activity can break the law. For example, if they tied up a whole area of traffic so people couldn't get through, and it eventually stopped ambulances getting to the hospital."

It's also important to note that officials seeking to enforce the coronavirus lockdown in Newark or other municipalities are required to limit themselves to what is "minimally required to deal with the situation," Raveson added.

"It's not an all-or-nothing proposition one way or the other," Raveson said.

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com



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