Ground Zero in the nation's increasingly acrimonious debate over illegal immigration might be the Reformed Church of Highland Park.

That's where Rev. Seth Kaper-Dale, the New Jersey church's blunt-speaking pastor, has declared his house of worship a sanctuary.

The church recently opened its doors once again to protect three Indonesian Christians, including one who hurriedly moved in after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested two other men while they were dropping their daughters off for school nearby.

Gov. Phil Murphy quickly showed up at the church to voice his support in the wake of the unexpected enforcement action. And Attorney General Gurbir Grewal questioned whether the Department of Homeland Security had violated a longstanding prohibition on enforcement actions at "sensitive locations" by arresting fathers who "were simply ensuring that their children arrived at school safely."

The standoff at the church lasted less than two weeks.

Last week, a last-ditch effort by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey to halt the deportations of the Indonesians led to the granting by a federal judge of a temporary restraining order, pending a hearing on whether the court had jurisdiction in the matter.

The three men who sought sanctuary left.

But since the arrests, Kaper-Dale has held community events, repeatedly has spoken out against ICE, and continues to focus attention on the plight of immigrants facing deportation.

"Over time I have learned about messaging. I know that our narrative is part of a larger narrative that is playing out," he said. "And I choose to carefully express things in ways that can connect to the larger, without losing the value of the particular."

Fighting ICE

A graduate of the Princeton Theological Seminary, Kaper-Dale (pronouced COPPER-Dale) appears comfortable in the public eye.

The 42-year-old minister, who ran for governor last year as the Green Party candidate, has been fielding dozens of calls from reporters and acknowledges an influx of contributions in support of his work since the arrests. He has long been seen as an outspoken, media savvy activist, albeit one who is sometimes quick to shoot from the hip.

"I have become media savvy," he readily acknowledged. "But pretty much what that means is 'don't be afraid of anything.' I don't worry about what comes out of my mouth or the 'clean up' that might be necessary. I trust my gut, and I know when to back off, ask forgiveness and say 'my bad.'"

After the two Indonesians were first detained, he accused ICE of breaking into their homes after learning the properties had been vandalized--a charge that ICE officials have vehemently denied. When he learned that passports had been stolen as well, he wanted to hold a press conference.

Two families in sanctuary at our church had their homes ransacked and vandalized last night. I believe this is a coordinated attack for intimidation by ICE. — Seth Kaper-Dale (@KaperDale) January 27, 2018

ICE reacted strongly to his assertions.

"To suggest that ICE law enforcement officers were involved in such an incident is patently false. ICE law enforcement officers carry out their sworn duties daily with the utmost professionalism, in accordance with their training," officials said in a statement. "To suggest that they would cause intentional harm to property is irresponsible and spreads undue fear in the community which this individual claims to support."

Pressed later, Kaper-Dale made no apologies and doubled-down on his claims.

"ICE went through there without a warrant. Without a doubt. Or they got someone else to do the dirty work for them," he asserted.

The pastor, noting the growing anger and vitriol over the country's immigration debate, said some have asked him if he is obstructing justice by his activism.

"I say I'm obstructing injustice," he responded during an interview in the church chapel, sitting in a pew framed by the sanctuary's arched stained glass windows. "That is a centerpiece of Christianity. And it is a centerpiece of the Hebrew prophets. Obstructing injustice is the way of God."

Playing ball

Kaper-Dale did not grow up intending to become a rabble-rouser and had no thoughts of the ministry.

Born in Vermont, Seth Dale was raised in the town of Hartland, the son of a social worker and a teacher.

"Seth has always been passionate about the underdog," said his father, Steve Dale, who still lives with his wife Wendy in Montpelier. "He had a driving force to help people in need."

The minister said his dream had actually been to play baseball.

"I wanted to be Roberto Clemente. That's who I wanted to be," Kaper-Dale reflected. "He was dead before I was born, but my parents were die-hard Pittsburgh Pirate fans and I was brought up on the stories of his humanitarian actions while being a player."

It was not meant to be. He played ball through high school, but when he went away to college in Michigan and showed up for tryouts, he found himself competing against a 6-foot, 7-inch backup first baseman. He decided to study journalism, became a Mets fan, and met his future wife, Stephanie Kaper--now co-pastor with her husband of the Reformed Church of Highland Park.

They married at 21, joined their last names, and went to Ecuador to live for a year in a children's home before returning to attend seminary.

After graduation, there were internships in Brooklyn, and the clergy couple found their way to Highland Park in 2001. That's where Kaper-Dale first connected with the Indonesian refugee community.

"When we came to this church there was a small little Indonesian church worshiping at night on Sunday nights," he recalled. "We would hear these beautiful songs that we couldn't understand. Sometimes we would know the tunes. It was still Amazing Grace. It just was in Indonesian. So we started to connect with the people a little bit."

Most had fled to the United States in the midst of chaos following the collapse of the Suharto regime in 1998 that saw a bloody wave of violence against Christians in the Muslim-dominated nation, and virtually all were here on overstayed tourist visas, Kaper-Dale said.

One of them was Arthur Jemmy of Edison, who was among those who sought sanctuary inside Kaper-Dale's church.

Jemmy, 42, said he left Indonesia at the age of 27 after a group of men armed with machetes entered his church in Central Sulawesi and confronted the pastor in the middle of a service.

"He told everyone 'stay calm,'" said Jemmy, recalling the words of the pastor."He walked down to the aisle. When he approached them, before he could say anything, his head was already on the floor. They chopped his head off."

He said he ran out of the church with his parents, who sent him to Jakarta, and then to the United States.

"Christians in Indonesia have to play hide and seek," Jemmy said.

Immigration advocates say those who came here could have applied for asylum, but only had a year to apply. Kaper-Dale said their legal problems began after the 9/11 terror attacks, when the U.S. government created a registration program for non-citizen men from predominantly Muslim nations. The Indonesian Christian men who reported as required soon were targeted by immigration authorities because they had not applied for asylum within the one-year time limit.

It all came into focus for Kaper-Dale in May 2006, when federal immigration agents arrested dozens of undocumented Indonesian immigrants in pre-dawn raids across Middlesex County, as part of a nationwide crackdown on foreigners ordered deported who had not left the country.

Kaper-Dale said he remembered the headline about the arrests of more than 30 fugitives.

"And I thought no. Actually, the feds just arrested 35 dads, many of whom played in the sandbox with me and my baby just two nights earlier," he said. "The cruelty of politically motivated raids by ICE against fathers of little children never left me. From that moment on I've been fighting viciously."

Kaper-Dale in the church sanctuary, reflecting on the country's changing immigration policy. (Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

In town, Highland Park Mayor Gayle Brill Mittler has known Kaper-Dale since he arrived in the small Middlesex County town, just over the Raritan River from New Brunswick.

"I think Seth is a wonderful advocate for social justice," she said. "I'm glad he's a member of our community. He has a big heart and he really wants to go to bat for people who don't have a voice."

She said the focus by ICE on the community has put residents on edge. At the same time, the mayor voiced support for the Indonesians, noting they came here fleeing persecution.

"They were seeking religious freedom. That's what this country was built on from the day of the pilgrims," she said.

It is a large congregation. There are 275 adults and 150 children, and about 100 or so 'adherents' that make up the membership, according to Kaper-Dale, who estimated there are more than 3,000 a week in the buidling that also doubles as a cafe that caters to refugee and asylum seekers.

Despite Kaper-Dale's efforts, though, most of the Indonesians who have caught up in the federal dragnets--even before the enhanced enforcement efforts of the current administration--have in the end lost their fight to stay here.

Four other Indonesian Christian immigrants were deported from New Jersey in June after losing a decades-long battle to stay in the U.S. over fears of what would happen if they returned to the homes they fled.

Still, Kaper-Dale said ICE had once been willing to exercise discretion in the past, and was less inclined to seek detention for those never charged with a crime.

Not only has that changed under what officials have said are new rules of engagement, the pastor said his relationship with ICE has changed as well.

"I've been attempting to speak with Washington and to speak with Newark about the Indonesians--I can show you email trails," he complained. "There's been a refusal to discuss.

ICE officials defended the recent enforcement action.

"Our immigration system provides an extensive legal process for aliens who have violated our laws, and ICE believes that these individuals have already availed themselves of this process and that the removal orders they received as part of that process should be executed," said spokesman Emilio Dabul.

They also denied that there has been no communication with the minister.

"Rev. Kaper-Dale has had numerous conversations with ICE over the last few months, including this year," said Dabul.

Sparking outcry

Immigration advocates say there is no double that Kaper-Dale has an impact on the immigration debate here in New Jersey.

"I think it's very important to shine a light on what's happening right now with ICE," said Nicole Miller, legal Services director of the American Friends Service Committee's immigrant rights program in Newark. "As people grow more and more aware of what is happening, it could change the discourse in this country."

Miller said Kaper-Dale's intervention has led ICE to back off in the past, and he has gotten the attention of elected officials.

"He's very media savvy," she observed.

That can be a good and bad thing, some advocates say.

Catherine Weiss of Lowenstein Sandler, who oversees the firm's pro bono work, said there are costs and benefits in focusing attention on immigration enforcement cases, pointing to the plight of Ravi Ragbir, a high-profile New York immigration rights activist who was ordered released by a federal judge after ICE prepared to deport him. Weiss said Ragbir had already been a public target and publicizing his plight only rallied a movement behind him.

"It might incite ICE to put him on an airplane in two hours, it also helped to get him back," she said.

The question, she said, is always what client wants. "It's not my choice. I'm not the one who bears the consequences of that choice," she said.

Joyce Phipps, an immigration lawyer from Bound Brook and

a nonprofit group serving immigrants and refugees, credited Kaper-Dale with raising awareness of the illegal immigration debate. She recounted what she saw at a legal workshop last week on asylum, where a number of lawyers who had heard about what was going on in the church in Highland Park had approached her.

"People who had never done immigration law wanted to do something. And it all came out of the Indonesians," she said. "I think Seth's actions have spoken to people of faith who are particularly concerned about our nation's moral direction and see the issues of faith as those of social justice."

Since the signing of the restraining order, the Indonesians who took refuge in the church have left. A hearing in federal court is scheduled for next month, but the other men who were arrested remain in detention.

Meanwhile, Kaper-Dale said he is far from alone in his fight.

In particular, he credits his wife and co-pastor, Stephanie Kaper-Dale, who he said in many ways is a major reason why he can get involved so deeply in issues of social justice as they share the work of their church.

"I am a cheerleader, trouble-shooter, fundraiser and dreamer. I am surrounded by an ever-increasing number of skilled leaders who come to the church and our web of non-profits with gifts and skills that add beauty to this place," he said. "Alone I am nothing."

Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Facebook: @TedSherman.reporter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

An earlier version of this post misstated when Arthur Jemmy sought sanctuary at the church.