With the heightened attention concerning their immigration status, the families have been taking refuge, living in the church.
A day after Gov. Phil Murphy rushed to a Highland Park church to pray with a group of undocumented Indonesian immigrants seeking sanctuary from deportation, two of their homes were burglarized, the church's pastor said.
The homes of Arthur Jemmy, of Edison, and Harry Pangemanan, of Highland Park, were broken into between Friday night and early Saturday morning, the Rev. Seth Kaper-Dale of the Reformed Church of Highland Park said. Cash and gold were taken from both homes, he said.
"We refuse to live in fear as a community especially as leadership. It is not our job to bend to the powers of evil," Kaper-Dale said.
Highland Park Police Chief Stephen Rizco told NJ Advance Media police were investigating a burglary at Pangemanan's home but did not release additional details. The Edison police department did not immediately confirm whether they were investigating the other incident.
In a Facebook post, Kaper-Dale suggested that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was behind the incidents, a suggestion the agency vehemently denied. "If true, these reports of vandalism are unfortunate; however, to suggest that ICE law enforcement officers were involved in such an incident is patently false," ICE press secretary Jennifer D. Elzea said.
Jemmy's neighbors sent him a video of what his home looked like after they were vandalized. The church has fixed the door, which Kaper-Dale said had crowbar marks and was off the hinges. The home looked ransacked -- items were strewn on the floor, including inside the children's bedrooms, the video shows.
Jemmy, a Christian who said he fled religious persecution in Indonesia, has been staying at the church since October, when he was expected to check in with immigration officials.
"I'm doing my best. I want to be a citizen," Jemmy, who has applied for asylum multiple times, only to have it denied, previously said.
Pangemanan sought sanctuary at the church on Thursday after ICE officials knocked on his door as he was getting ready to take his 15-year-old daughter to school.
"They didn't just do the damage to me, they did the damage to an American's life, my children," Pangemanan said of his burglarized home. "They have started destroying my children's lives."
Pangemanan, a Christian, left Makassar, Indonesia, in 1993 at age 21 to flee religious persecution, he said. He met his Indonesian wife in America, who also escaped from religious persecution in 1998 and is also not here legally. Together, the pair have two children, 11 and 15, who were born in America.
Kaper-Dale said he spoke Saturday with Gov. Phil Murphy, who said he would provide security for Sunday's services at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. On Sunday, a Highland Park officer was seen inside the church while a patrol car circled the church a few times.
Murphy's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At 1 p.m., activists will rally in Metuchen to denounce the crackdown on undocumented immigrant communities. U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr., is expected to attend.
In addition to both of the immigrants' homes being broken into, the church itself has increasingly been vandalized throughout the week with sayings such as "build the wall" that were found in the the men's bathroom, Kaper-Dale said.
Taylor Harris
"The Civil Rights Revolution did not come without Bull O'Connor turning a hose on children," Kaper-Dale said. "It seems that often the good comes from true exposure of that which is vicious and wrong. While I hate that we are at the center of this right now, I believe that God is up to something bigger."
The church made headlines on Thursday when Murphy raced there to visit with immigrants after two Indonesians were arrested by ICE and Pangemanan sought refuge in the church.
Gunawan Liem, of Franklin Park, and Roby Sanger, of Metuchen, were detained as they dropped their kids off at school Thursday morning.
"We're trying to provide safety but they're attacking our family and their personal homes," said Kaper-Dale. "What's next?"
Staff writer Karen Yi and Ed Murray contributed to this report.
Taylor Tiamoyo Harris may be reached at tharris@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ladytiamoyo.
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