OCEAN COUNTY – Another rally opposing policies and actions by President Donald Trump was held in Toms River but this one took aim at a plan to confine undocumented immigrants at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JBMDL).
The rally was held in front of the Ocean County Veterans Administration Building on Hooper Avenue (which was closed at that time) and was coordinated by the Democratic Coalition of Ocean County (DCOC), Young Democrats of Ocean County, Jersey Shore Blue and the Toms River Democrats.
The late afternoon protest held in 85-degree weather carried a name that represented its theme, “Choose to Welcome: Not Imprison.”
DCOC representative Sharon Quilter stated, “we are horrified this government wants to repurpose Fort Dix as a prison for immigrants. We are making our displeasure known.”
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JBMDL) leadership announced a proposal by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to use part of the facility as an incident support base.
JBMDL announced this would be led by DHS and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “Therefore, all operational decisions, timelines, and facility management will fall under their authority. At this time, no final decisions have been made.”
Officials of JBMDL added that they were “committed to supporting its federal partners in accordance with applicable laws, policies, and mission requirements.”
“As a military installation, JBMDL’s primary mission remains the support of rapid global mobility operations, and increasing the combat readiness and lethality of its servicemembers,” a JMDL spokesman said.
ICE Public Affairs Officer Chrissy Cuttita responded to questions about the plan posed by Micromedia Publications stating that according to the Department of Defense, “the Secretary approved a Department of Homeland Security request for assistance to use real property at Camp Atterbury, Indiana and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey to establish temporary soft-sided holding facilities.”
“The timeline for these facilities will depend on operational requirements and coordination with DHS. As the Department continues to support our interagency partners executing their immigration law enforcement mission, updates will be provided as they are available,” she added.
According to the Department of Defense, the Joint Base facility would hold up to 3,000 beds for use by ICE. This expansion has New Jersey as an epicenter of President Trump’s mass deportation agenda. Earlier this year, Delaney Hall, the largest detention facility on the East Coast, opened in Newark, which already multiplied the detention capacity in the state four times over.
Between 100 and 150 people came out to the rally. Their signs featured various slogans such as “Release the Epstein Files.” A woman’s umbrella had messages critical of the president such as “King of the Shill” as well as “Resist and Make Good Trouble.” Some presented information on candidates in November.
There was a lot of beeping in support of those at the rally but there were also some vehicles that slowed down to raise a middle finger and kept their hand on the horn as a means to demonstrate support for the president. There were no counter protestors at this rally.
Two Toms River women present at the rally spoke with Jersey Shore Online.com.
Peggy Barr described the meeting between Russian leader Vladamir Putin and President Trump recently in Alaska. “That was no peace accord. That was our president kissing the keister of a dictator without all parties involved. What is happening right now is absolutely awful. There is no rhyme or reason to what is going on.”
“It is like ‘who can you hurt the hardest?’ We are here today to show our disdain and our resistance to our president,” Barr added.
Her friend Alyssa added, “It gives me hope to join like-minded people who want to do good for the world and in our country.”
Both women expressed that Trump was “going after the soft targets – people who are out in the open but I dare them to go into a real gangland against armed gang members – the ones who should be being deported – not high school honor students, not a landscaper with two Marine sons. Definitely go after criminals and I understand they feel everyone who is here illegally is a criminal but those following the protocol and are there at the courthouse shouldn’t be targets.”
They were also critical of masked ICE agents who don’t wear visible identification or badges. “That is scary because anyone who would try to detain me and wore that I would fight to get free. To have the National Guard go against citizens is just Trump’s way of escalating the situation so he will have more of an excuse to gain more power.”
