EDISON, New Jersey (WABC) -- Demonstrators on Wednesday called for the release of 20 workers who were taken into ICE custody during a raid at a warehouse in Edison, New Jersey.
The raid happened at the Alba Wine and Spirits Warehouse on July 8.
Demonstrators say the workers are now being held in inhumane conditions at Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark. The workers arrested have a mass immigration hearing on July 21 and organizers are racing against the clock to raise financial aid and legal air for them now that immigration attorneys are in such high demand.
One family reported their loved one was forced to sleep on the floor for two nights.
"Our federal government with personnel and vehicles meant for border patrol and guns and dogs and armor. But they brought all that stuff up here to the border of Edison, New Jersey, on July 8," said Rev. Seth Kaper-Dale of Reformed Church of Highland Park.
Outrage and helplessness were heard in the voice of Rev. Seth Kaper-Dale, who went live on social media during an ICE raid last week.
"They threw me on the floor, marks right there.' 'You're freaking kidding me, they just did that right now?" he said in the video.
At the Reformed Church of Highland Park, a group of advocates vowed to fight for the workers arrested during the ICE enforcement action at a distribution facility on Saw Mill Pond Road in Edison.
"One of the families pictured here has been here 27 years. They've lived in this town for 16 years. They've worked at all the warehouses for 12 years," Kaper-Dale said.
Amanda Dominguez of the group New Labor said: "They separated people into groups, giving people red wristbands. They zip-tied others, took them away in vans."
ICE Newark and Customs and Border Patrol confirmed the agencies detained more than 100 people, arresting 20 of them from multiple South American countries, five of whom have already been deported.
"People came with big envelopes of just like birth certificates, of work permits, of copies of identification. But honestly, the way ICE was standing, trying to barricade us, not letting us through. They were not interested," Dominguez said.
Alba Wines and Spirits said in a statement that "temporary workers hired by third-party staffing agencies" were arrested and that it "maintains contractual agreements that require them to comply with all applicable laws, including verifying employment eligibility."
The statement also offered sympathy to those who were detained.
"Our hearts go out to them and their families during this incredibly difficult time, these are hardworking people, fundamental for the functioning of our country's infrastructure."
Carlos Dyer of Movimiento Cosecha NJ, called for the abolition of ICE.
"Let's make sure that all these warehouse owners are accountable to the employees they hire every day, who they profit and make millions off on their backs," Dyer said.
Assistant Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that the operations are going after networks that illegally employ workers.
"These operations target illegal employment networks that undermine American workers, destabilize labor markets and expose critical infrastructure to exploitation," McLaughlin said.
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