By Barbara A. Preston | September 5, 2025
About 20 residents made public comments urging Montgomery governing officials to pass a resolution supporting the NJ Immigrant Trust Act (ITA), which they say will protect undocumented residents and those on H-1B visas, and allow them to access essential services without fear of ICE involvement. Officials said at Thursday night's Township Committee meeting that they would consider it.
Sherry Silinger of Belle Mead spoke first during the public comment session. She said she worked for 30 years as a CFO of an IT technical recruiting company, "relying heavily on diversity to fill our positions."
"To think that some of my prior staff members and their families may be hiding or suffering because they are here on visas, or may have family members here, undocumented, living in fear, is unacceptable to me."
Belle Mead resident Trish Scalese, a pastoral assistant at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Montgomery, displays a sign in support of immigrants and refugees at the Montgomery Township Committee meeting on Thursday night.
Photo by Barbara A. Preston
Silinger, a mother of five adult children and eight grandchildren, said her family includes a variety of ethnicities and backgrounds. She says communities are always stronger, economically and culturally, when there is diversity.
"I have lived my entire life ... with freedoms and rights protected under the U.S. Constitution. I cannot sit back and watch the atrocities happening with deportation and ICE raids, and the current administration's disregarding the rights for due process," she said. "Immigrants in New Jersey need urgent protection now."
Silinger highlighted the following negative impacts of current immigration enforcement:
Family separation: People are being pulled away from their screaming children, and children are being left.
Inhumane detention.
Deportation without due process: People are being deported into places they have never been.
Fear and suffering: Undocumented individuals and those on visas or green cards are living in fear, hiding, or suffering.
Targeting of communities: The Latino and Hispanic communities are being specifically targeted.
Disregard for the Constitution and rights for due process.
She urged town officials to pass a resolution in support of The New Jersey Immigrant Trust Act, which is a proposed bill (S3672/A4987) supported by NJ ACLU designed to strengthen trust between immigrant communities and government agencies by limiting state and local involvement in federal immigration enforcement. It aims to protect public services and data privacy by restricting information sharing with immigration authorities. The goal, according to the ACLU, is to ensure all New Jerseyans, regardless of immigration status, can access services and report crimes without fear of deportation, thereby creating a safer and more welcoming state.
About 20 citizens — including a former Montgomery mayor/state legislator, a pastoral assistant, a planning board member, and more — asked elected officials to pass a resolution in support of the New Jersey Immigrant Trust Act (Bill S3672/A4987) to ensure local resources, especially police officers, are used to support local priorities and not federal immigration enforcement.
Photo by Barbara A. Preston
Trish Scalese, a pastoral assistant at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Skillman, said,"Myself and other members of the ... Catholic community, are here in support of the resolution that has been spoken about. We want to lend our voice and the support of our brothers and sisters."
While a precise "number of immigrants" isn't available, Montgomery Township has a large foreign-born population, with approximately 44% of residents in Belle Mead being foreign-born, according to an NBC News special featuring Mayor Neena Singh (who is an immigrant, born in India). The township has a significant Asian population and is considered one of the best places to live in New Jersey, according to the NBC article titled "Inside the tiny N.J. suburb with the fastest-growing Asian population in the U.S." and published in May 2024.
Montgomery Mayor Neena Singh, an immigrant from India, on right.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (ICE) said in an online statement posted in January 2025 that it will take a more targeted approach focusing on:
H-1B-dependent employers (those who have a high ratio of H-1B workers as compared to U.S. workers, as defined by statute);
Cases where we cannot validate the employer’s basic business information through commercially available data; and
Employers petitioning for H-1B workers who work off-site at another company or organization’s location.
"Targeted site visits will also help us determine whether H-1B-dependent employers who normally must meet H-1B recruitment attestation requirements are actually paying their workers the statutorily required salary to qualify for an exemption from these requirements. These site visits will assist in determining if these employers are evading their obligation to make a good faith effort to recruit U.S. workers and to not displace U.S. workers.
"Targeted site visits will allow us to focus resources where fraud and abuse of the H-1B program may be more likely to occur. We will also continue to make unannounced and random visits to all H-1B employers across the country, both before and after any petition is adjudicated."
Belle Mead resident Sherry Silinger.
So far, ICE has detained a Montgomery Township resident from Mexico who works as landscaper; and the owner of a successful restaurant have been detained by ICE.
Silinger told Montgomery Township Committee members: "Today, ICE appears to be targeting the Latino communities. Who will they target next? They are already starting to look at individuals living in the United States with visas. What's next? People living here on Green Cards, who are permanent residents living here for maybe 50 years of their lives? And, then, further on to American citizens who they don't like?"
"When will it personally affect you? Or someone in your circle? Action is needed now. Ask your legislator's to support the Immigrant Trust Act."
The following nearby towns have already passed resolutions in support of the Immigrant Trust Act: Princeton, Trenton, Flemington, Morristown, and South Brunswick, to name a few.
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Based on the document, the Immigrant Trust Act is a proposed state-level legislation in New Jersey that aims to:
Assure community access to vital services: It would ensure that all members of the community, regardless of immigration status, can access vital human services (like healthcare) without fear of ICE involvement.
Focus law enforcement on public safety: It would allow state and local law enforcement to focus their resources on public safety activities, rather than being obligated to support ICE detentions of individuals who pose no threat to communities.
Establish data privacy policies: It rebuilds trust through new data privacy policies, preventing state and local agencies from inquiring about immigration status when it's irrelevant to their work and safeguarding that information.
Provide a "speed bump" against ICE raids: While not stopping raids entirely, it's seen as a "significant speed bump" that would mitigate some of the harm from such actions.
Protect undocumented residents: It is intended to protect undocumented residents and prevent their deportation, particularly for those who have not committed serious crimes.
The Immigrant Trust Act is pending in the state legislature.
Former Montgomery mayor and NJ legislator Sadaf Jaffer added her voice to the 20 residents seeking their local leaders’ support to urge state legislators to pass the Immigrant Trust Act.
"Please do everything in your power to ensure our state Assembly Members Roy Freiman and Mitchelle Drulis co-sponsor the bill as well," she said.
"Also, it is unacceptable that we had to learn from a gofundme site that ICE conducted an operation here in Montgomery and detained a 20-year-resident. The mayor should be communicating these threats directly to the public. At a time when many in our community feel uncertain and vulnerable, your public support for the Immigrant Trust Act will make clear that you are committed to protecting safety, dignity, and fairness for all."
Domingo was picked up August 5 in Montgomery Township. He has been living in the area for more than 20 years, first working in a Princeton bakery and then moving to Montgomery and starting his own landscape business, according to his Go-Fund-Me site.
"As the sole provider of his family, he often worked 60 hours a week, but still made sure Sundays were reserved for family meals together," according to the site. ICE has moved him to a detention center in Louisiana.
ICE had detained John Zhang, a 20-plus-year Montgomery resident originally from China who owns YaYa Noodles. ICE arrested him on March 24, and he has been in the Elizabeth Detention Center since then. Read "Daughter Visits 'Sushi John' in ICE Detention Facility: 'He's My Idol.'"
The Montgomery News editor asked what the Township Committee was doing to support John Zhang and Domingo, and whether support was needed.
Regarding Zhang, Mayor Singh responded that Montgomery Township Committee has reached out to the Congresswoman [Bonnie Watson-Coleman]. "We've been consistently talking to her," the mayor said. "I think it is more of a federal [issue]. We at the township level can only reach out to our partners at the federal level."
Regarding the Immigrant Trust resolution, Mayor Singh said the Township Committee will have a conversation with their attorney.
She added, "I am an immigrant. I came to this country 30 years ago, so I understand. I look different and when I'm walking down the road I'm sure someone could ask me for my papers. So I totally understand."
Vince Barragan said: "I've tried to keep very Montgomery focused. An encroachment of executive power is what's at stake, not just for undocumented immigrants, but also for citizens and permanent residents. Both my parents immigrated to the United States. My mother is from Cuba, [father from Ecuador]. A resident was speaking about secret police. It's one of the reasons my mother left. My father came for economic reasons. I'm going to say they came in legally, but today, they would not be able to come in under those same pathways. ...
"My wife is an immigrant, and is a U.S. citizen, also my in-laws. But that's not to say that one day people in masks aren't going to just pull me over. And, who's going to pick up my daughter from school that day? That's a small kind of issue, compared to what a lot of images [in the news] are.
"My personal commitment is to lend my support to our state legislators to move forward on this [immigrant act]," Barragan said.
Taylor Todd said: "It's not as if we haven't been discussing this. We are living in surreal times. This country was founded on the basis of immigration. I might be the only one up here who descended from people who did not immigrate here voluntarily. But this is just surreal.
"We're seeing families being separated from each other ... for political reasons. We hear you. I can't take a position on behalf of the committee, but this is something I plan to discuss in great detail in the near future. We will do the best thing for our residents."
Ahn thanked the speakers for their stories, as did all the township committee members. "Most of us are immigrants, or descended from immigrants," he said. "My parents immigrated here. And we're all Americans. This is affecting us personally, our friends, our families ... it's a fearful time.
"Actually, last night I had a nightmare on what could happen," Ahn continued. "So it is very concerning. As Montgomery, we don't have much sway on what the state legislator's do, but, we can definitely put pressure on them to pass the Immigrant Trust Act."
"We had some highly respected residents speak tonight, people who are active in our community and democracy — including a former mayor and assemblywoman. And the force of their words is very powerful. It's pretty clear we are living in a time where the forces of intolerance, racism, and anti-immigration sentiment, and even anti-First Amendment sentiment is very strong. And, it's horrific.
"It's really pretty simple. We need to stand up for tolerance, pragmatism, compassion, and human rights. What's happening right now is people are being treated like animals. When I think about the AG directive, and the fact that a Republican governor could easily get rid of it, then we've got to turn it into a law. I will keep working for that.
"I don't want to see our local police, and our local taxpayers' dollars for our police, being used to help ICE. I will definitely keep on this issue. It is something that's important to me. ... We need to stand up for others who cannot stand up for themselves."
Directive 2018-6 limits state and local law enforcement's ability to cooperate with federal immigration authorities to enforce civil immigration law, with the goal of fostering trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement. Issued in 2018 by then-Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, the directive restricts officers from stopping, questioning, or detaining individuals based on their immigration status alone and requires federal authorities to pick up individuals suspected of violations on the day they are released. The directive prohibits using state or local resources for federal immigration enforcement and encourages victims and witnesses to report crimes without fear of deportation.
What the Directive Does
Separates state and federal roles:
It clarifies the distinction between state/local law enforcement (enforcing state criminal law) and federal immigration authorities (enforcing federal civil immigration law).
Protects victims and witnesses:
It aims to ensure immigrant communities feel safe reporting crimes by limiting cooperation with immigration officials.
Limits questioning of immigration status:
Officers cannot ask about immigration status unless it's relevant to a criminal investigation of a serious offense.
Prohibits detention based on immigration status:
Officers cannot hold a person solely based on their immigration status or detain them past the time they would otherwise be released to await an immigration detainer.
Restricts assistance to federal agencies:
It limits the voluntary assistance that state and local law enforcement can provide to federal immigration authorities.
What the Directive Does Not Do
Does not create "sanctuary" status:
It does not mean New Jersey provides sanctuary to individuals who commit crimes.
Does not limit criminal law enforcement:
It does not restrict officers from enforcing state criminal law or complying with valid court orders.
Does not prevent assisting with exigent circumstances:
It does not stop officers from assisting federal authorities in response to crisis.
Why It Was Issued
The Immigrant Trust Directive was intended to allocate limited state resources toward public safety and to build trust between law enforcement and New Jersey's diverse immigrant communities.
The Immigrant Trust Act (S3672/A4987)
There is also a legislative bill, S3672/A4987, known as the Immigrant Trust Act.
This bill aims to codify the directives' protections into law, making it more difficult to reverse them.
It expands the directive's scope, providing broader protections in accessing public services, such as those in schools, health care facilities, and shelters.
