Getty Images file photo

Don't Edit

Dane Foster was just around the corner from his home in Westampton in Burlington County last week when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents descended on the Jamaican immigrant, his wife said.

"We literally just dropped our daughter off at daycare. They came out of nowhere. They came down on us literally three cars deep and said they were going to take him," said Alexsa Foster, his wife, in a tearful video posted on Facebook.

Dane Foster, a legal resident who has held a green card since 1997, was one of 105 immigrants picked up in a massive ICE sweep of New Jersey that spanned 16 counties. Those arrested included undocumented immigrants and foreign nationals wanted for crimes in their home countries, immigration officials said.

Foster, a 36-year-old father of four married to a disabled U.S. Army veteran, was picked up because of multiple marijuana possession charges in the early 2000s and in 2014, his attorney said.

"Dane was convicted of simple marijuana possession – a disorderly persons offense in New Jersey," said Afia Yunus, a Marlton attorney representing Foster. "No criminal record for the past four years."

Foster was not jailed for the marijuana possession charges, though he was fined, his attorney said.

ICE officials said any convictions, even old cases, mean Foster could lose his green card and face deportation.

“ICE conducts targeted immigration enforcement actions in compliance with federal law. Dane Foster, a Jamaican national, is subject to removal from the U.S. based on his criminal history. He has been entered into immigration proceedings with the Executive Office for Immigration Review," ICE said in a statement.

Don't Edit

Green Card Holder and Husband of U.S. Veterans at risk of Deportation ICE continued attacks on our Community has devastated one of our own, the Foster Family. One week after ICE’s threat on our community, Dane Foster was detained outside of his home while together with his family, his wife Alexsa and their children. Dane has been long standing member of the community and a permanent resident in New Jersey since he received his green card in 1997. Those that know Dane know that he is an active member of his church, where he plays the drums every Sunday service. Dane is not only a loved member of the family but a provider for his family. Mr. Foster and his wife run a lawn family business. Currently, Dane Foster is being detained in the Essex County Jail and he currently does not have any active warrants or any pending unresolved charges. His wife is a VA Disabled Veteran and unable to work at this time or provide for his family. Now is the time we must demonstrate our commitment to the fair treatment of immigrant from our community. Now is the time we as Faith Leaders must stand up against ICE’s cruel attacks on hard working Fathers and Families. Now is the time we must show up, be active, and make our voice heard! To stand in solidarity with Dane Foster and in response to ICE’s hate fueled attacks, we are organizing an Emergency Vigil outside of Essex County Detention Facility. When: Thursday December 13th, 2018 Time: 6:00pm Where: Essex County Detention Center (354 Doremus Ave, Newark, NJ 07105) Video Credit. R. Evolution Productions Posted by Faith in New Jersey on Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Don't Edit

An increase in arrests

For Alexsa Foster, who says she served seven years in the U.S. Army, the arrest of her husband has been devastating. Because she is disabled, the lawn maintenance service business her husband runs is the main source of income for her and their four children, who range in age from 9 to 2. She is struggling to explain to her children what happened to their father.

"This is not really what I fought for and signed up for when I joined the military. It's not what I thought this country could be," said Alexsa Foster, 28, who said she comes from a family of military veterans.

She said she spent her years in the Army and the National Guard as a mechanic. She fractured her pelvis and developed migraines and seizures, leaving her unable to work and on disability.

In recent months, the Trump administration has appeared to step up enforcement of rules that say immigrants living in the country legally can be deported for breaking the law, even if it was a minor crime decades ago.

The rule was rarely enforced for green card holders with minor convictions until the Trump administration took office, immigration groups said.

Don't Edit

Please all that can come and support it would mean the world. We need people to realize this is happening to get him... Posted by Alexsa Laura Foster on Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

More legal residents facing deportation

Immigrant rights groups say they have seen a noticeable increase in the number of immigrants living legally in the U.S. picked up by ICE in New Jersey. In most cases, they are facing deportation because of long-forgotten criminal convictions dating back years or decades.

The arrests are breaking up families, even though the immigrants have not been in trouble with the law for years and have become part of their communities, Farrin Anello, a senior staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, said earlier this year.

“By abandoning the idea of prosecutorial discretion and arresting long-time residents, including those with no past arrests or with very old or low-level convictions, ICE is terrorizing communities and leaving U.S. citizen children without their parents,” Anello said.

ICE officials have said they are following the law.

Any green card holder who violates the terms of being a legal resident in the U.S. can face deportation at any time if they break the law, an ICE spokesman said.

Don't Edit

Rallying for Foster

A rally will be held Thursday evening in support of Foster and the other 104 immigrants arrested in last week's ICE sweep.

Faith in New Jersey, a faith-based social justice group, is organizing the protest and prayer event at 6 p.m. outside the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark, where Foster is being held in ICE detention awaiting a deportation hearing.

Alexsa Foster, his wife, is expected to speak at the rally along with several pastors, a rabbi and immigrant rights activists.

"Now is the time we as faith leaders must stand up against ICE’s cruel attacks on hard working fathers and families," Faith in New Jersey leaders said on their Facebook page.

Foster is active in his local church and plays drums every Sunday at worship services, the group said.

Foster's family has also set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for his legal defense and the family's expenses. As of Wednesday afternoon, the page had raised $1,655 toward an $8,000 goal.

Don't Edit

New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal introduces his "Immigrant Trust Directive" at Liberty State Park in Jersey City. (Kelly Heyboer | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Don't Edit

Fighting back

At least one other New Jersey resident recently arrested by ICE over an old criminal conviction fought his deportation and won.

Cloyd Edralin, of Highland Park, was unexpectedly arrested in June as he left his house on his way to his job as a machinist.

ICE said it wanted to deport Edralin, who immigrated legally to the U.S. from the Philippines 30 years ago, because he had been pulled over 11 years ago with an air rifle with plastic pellets in his car. He was sentenced to probation at the time.

He was one of 91 immigrants arrested in Operation Cross Check, a five-day ICE sweep in New Jersey in June.

Edralin, who has a U.S.-born wife and four children, spent several months in ICE custody at the Elizabeth Contract Detention Center before his detention hearing in September. The immigration judge granted the cancellation of the order to remove him from the country, the immigrant's family said.

"The judge even (asked), why are we even here . . . as he was thumbing thru the reams of paperwork," according to the update posted by Edralin's family on his GoFundMe page. "Case dropped."

Don't Edit

Tensions with N.J.'s attorney general

The ICE sweep last week came shortly after federal immigration officials clashed with state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal over his announcement that he is limiting how much local and state police can help immigration officials.

ICE officials said the arrests of 105 immigrants in the New Jersey sweep last week was preplanned and not a result of the attorney general's announcement.

The new rules -- which include limiting when police can turn over jailed immigrants to ICE agents -- go into effect in March. ICE officials said the attorney general's guidelines will create a "state-sanctioned haven" for unauthorized immigrants.

The attorney general's office said the new guidelines for state and local police will help improve relations with immigrant communities. The rules only apply to civil immigration cases and immigrants who commit crimes will still be prosecuted, state officials said.

But, federal officials warned New Jersey neighborhoods and workplaces should expect more ICE raids and arrests as a result of the attorney general's new directive.

Alexsa Foster, the Army veteran whose immigrant husband was arrested, said she was shocked her family got caught up in an ICE raid despite living a relatively quiet life in the New Jersey suburbs.

"It's right here in New Jersey that this is going on," she said in a video on Facebook. "It just needs to stop."

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

The callous brutality of Trump’s anti-immigrant stance hit home for me with news a family member faces deportation because of decade-old misdemeanors. Please help Dane Foster's wife and 4 kids cover legal fees and other expenses. They don't deserve this. https://t.co/JuHl4RaL2C — Michael Casey (@mikejcasey) December 9, 2018

Don't Edit

Urgent Vigil for a Father, and Husband of U.S. Veteran at risk of Deportation! When: Thursday December 13th, 2018 ... Posted by First Friends of NJ & NY on Monday, December 10, 2018

Don't Edit

Read more about immigration in New Jersey:

Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KellyHeyboer. Find her at KellyHeyboerReporter on Facebook.