By RICK MALWITZ
STAFF WRITER
MyCentralJersey.com
Eight children told emotional stories about how U.S. immigration policy has fractured their families, at one of 11 Children's Vigils held in the state Tuesday to draw attention to the break-up of families.
Naomi Harahap, 11, of Metuchen, told of visits to her father, Merwan, at an immigration detention center in Elizabeth, not being able to touch him but having to press her hand on one side of thick glass, while he pressed his hand on the other side.
"I want to hug him," said Harahap, whose father was deported to Indonesia in February, while her mother, Riasari, no longer wears a dress to church because she is embarrassed by the bulky ankle brace she must wear while her application for asylum is on appeal.
Valdio Toar, 15, of Woodbridge told how he was awakened on the morning of May 12, 2006, by a commotion in his home, and thought he was dreaming when an immigration official pointed a gun at him.
"This only happens in the movies," is what he said he thought.
For him, the story got worse when he heard his mother tell him, "They took Daddy."
His memory of that day was of "hiding from people who we thought we were good."
Four months, later his father, Frankie Toar, was deported to Indonesia.
The rallies were sponsored by the NJ Advocates for Immigrant Detainees, a coalition of human rights and religious groups. The church here became involved when its pastoral staff learned of Indonesian families split up by immigration policy.
What makes life complicated for most of the children who attended the vigil here is that they are American citizens, by virtue of having been born in the United States.
However, if their parents were in the United States on expired tourist visas when their children were born here, they are subject to detention and deportation.
Among the eight children who told their stories, all had their father taken away, while their mother was allowed to stay, even though their mother's immigration status was the same as her husband.
"Why do they always take the men?" asked Sharon Tuju, 9, of Woodbridge.
Those who attended the vigil here were encouraged to sign petitions urging their congressman to support HR 182, a resolution in the House of Representatives that would allow immigration judges to take into account family status of those facing deportation.
"We're demanding "family values' in our immigration policy," said Anne Barron, a member of Middlesex County First Friends, a volunteer group that visits detainees at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center in North Brunswick.
The Rev. Seth Kaper-Dale, pastor of the Reformed Church, allowed how he understands the need for immigration policy, and the work of the U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), which conducted the raids that netted the parents of the children who spoke.
"There are terrorists, who want to come here (to the United States). I want there to be an ICE. But the families I know are not a threat. They are hard-working people who came here with a dream," said Kaper-Dale.
"ICE is sensitive to the fact that encountering those who violate our immigration laws may impact families," said Harold Ort, a public affairs officer for ICE. "For parents who are ordered removed, it is their decision whether or not to relocate their children with them."
Riasari Harahap explained that she and her husband came to the United States in 1997. Her parents and a brother and sister preceded her into this country.
As members of the Seventh-Day Adventist congregation in Indonesia, they faced persecution in Indonesia, according to an e-mail Merwan sent from Indonesia to immigration authorities, as part of his effort to be allowed to return to his family in New Jersey.
Since he was deported, he has been unable to find work in Indonesia. Riasari sends him whatever money she can, which is not much. She said she earns $7.35 an hour working at a warehouse in Carteret, pays $25 a week to the person who drives her to and from work, and pays $895 in rent.
The ankle bracelet allows ICE officials to monitor her whereabouts.
"They treat her like a criminal. My mother is not a criminal," said Naomi.
Naomi concluded her remarks by saying, "Life stinks for me right now. I want to go back to what it was. God bless America."
http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20090915/NEWS/909150366
