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An article in the RECORD of Thursday, February 23, 2017, quotes ICE in New Jersey spokesman Alvin Phillips as saying, “We are not conducting raids….We are continuing to target individuals that might be a threat to national security or public safety.” http://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2017/02/22/feds-say-they-arent-doing-immigration-raids-nj/98265748/

Rumors are rampant, however, that raids are being planned. Chia-Chia Wang, organizing and advocacy director at American Friends Service Committee, said she was aware of recent actions involving immigrants in Elizabeth and Lindenwold. However, the people involved seemed to have been targeted for specific reasons, as they have been in previous years. So far there is no evidence of a major or visible shift under the new immigration orders.

Members of the Palisades Park area are telling CoFiA that they are very anxious and are afraid to leave their homes. Others are more relaxed–some have been here for many years and have seen constant shifts in both immigration policy and enforcement. According to the RECORD article, all federal immigration officers can now conduct an “expedited removal” anywhere in the US against people who arrived in the country in the previous two years. One provision, which requires Mexico’s cooperation, allows federal agents to send people to Mexico, even if they’re not from that country. Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray says this is not going to happen.

CoFiA is trying to stay up-to-date on the issues and will share what we learn with our members and the community. We need lots of information about what is going on–please send notices to us at info@communityoffriendsinaction.org.

Twice a year the Guatemalan Consulate comes to a site in our area to provide consular services to the Guatemalan Community. This year the event will be at St. Michael’s Church on Central Avenue in Palisades Park on Saturday, March 11, and Sunday, March 12. Angelica is handing out information on the street, and our good friend Elias Garcia is helping with logistics.

This is an important service for the Guatemalan community. They can update their Guatemalan passports and consular I.D. cards, get help with getting birth and marriage certificates, and more. For more information, call 212-636-3937/

One of the services of CoFiA is our Workers’Link. As we start thinking about getting ready for spring, please read carefully our “Hire a Worker” page on this web site. Some important things to keep in mind:

use the web site address (info@communityoffriendsinaction.org) to request a worker, fill out the form completely, and be prepared to wait a few days for assistance. Phone calls are less useful.

Many of our friends can do skilled labor, such as masonry, painting, sheet rock, and so forth, but are also willing to do casual work. Please remember to pay accordingly.

We like to get feedback! Send your comments to info@communityoffriendsinaction.org.

With the stock market experiencing a Trump Bump, some of us are seeing our portfolios swell. CoFiA is making it possible for anyone who wishes, to share this good fortune with our organization. Just donate some stocks (bonds, mutual funds–whatever you like!) to us! Contact Norm Smith (joemanton@sprynet.com).

It’s easy and provides a pleasant glow of doing good while doing well. We already have $1000 in our account–and it’s tax-deductible.

P.S. If a dozen of us decided to take this route, we might be able to afford a store-front home in Palisades Park. Just saying.

Saydy Tuanama, CoFiA’s community organizer, is organizing a special “Know Your Rights” seminar for the Palisades Park community on Wednesday, March 22, 2017, from 7:30 – 8:30 at the Palisades Park Public Library. All are welcome. The session will be in Spanish. We will discuss best strategies for staying safe when anticipating an ICE raid, what kinds of documents to have at hand at all times, the need to memorize important phone numbers, why it is crucial not to resist arrest, and why it is essential not to sign documents until you can speak to a lawyer.

Politicians often ignore what the creation of a hostile environment does to the development of children living in an immigrant family and community. Not only is a child damaged by the uncertainty of not knowing whether he or she will lose a parent or parents to deportation, they may be the victims of bullying and ostracization by other children. Whatever happens in this round of anti-immigrant rhetoric, many millions of these children will be here for years to come and are our best bet for economic growth as a nation.

Join us for the seminar on March 22 and bring questions and concerns! In Spanish.

Since we lost the space for our lunch program we have been distributing tickets for free lunches at local Palisades Park restaurants to workers on the street, including the homeless. They have been gratefully received. We are happy to report that the need is diminishing because with the warm weather more people are working. In addition, to our surprise and pleasure, several other restaurants are now providing free food to the workers.

We miss having access to the beautiful space at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, where we had been welcomed since 2009. It is not only losing the opportunity to provide a warm meal and a welcoming atmosphere for the workers, it is also very sad that we are no able to present the educational sessions which were an important feature of the lunch program. This is a big loss at this particular time, because all of us are anxious about what may be happening with immigration policy and enforcement, and we need to help one another stay up to date.

We are still looking for a new home! Please help!

In the midst of so much societal turmoil and governmental threats to many groups, we thought we needed a break!  On SATURDAY, MARCH 4, from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. we are inviting all members of CoFiA, both americanos and hispanics, to get together for an evening of fellowship and food.  The party will be held at our Leonia “home base,” the Presbyterian Church in Leonia, 181 Fort Lee Road, Leonia. It will be bilingual, with games, mixers and conversation led by Betty DeMarco and other bilingual members, and music by CoFiA-member musicians.

Wear your CoFiA shirts!  Or buy one that night.  Price of admission — one food or beverage offering to serve  6 people, or $5.00  Our Guatemalan delegados have been planning for some weeks and are going to bring some amazing dishes.  Now we need to hear from the rest of us!  Please send an email to info@communityoffriendsinaction or call Margaret at 201-833-1737.

Some of our faithful volunteers gathered at Vitale’s restaurant in Teaneck in February to discuss CoFiA’s current situation and brainstorm about what we all think are the most important things the organization can do. Many useful suggestions were made and several of these are already being acted on. Many thanks, friends!

Some specific tasks that we need volunteers for include assisting with the wage theft committee’s work (training will be provided); helping Angelica with the Workers Link program (this is one of our most important services); compiling a list of health care resources that the workers can use (Effie Giraldo, a nurse, is working on this and would be glad to have assistance); participating in a series of party/planning meetings for fund-raising (preferably 60% party, 40% planning!)–the first such event is already in the works; putting together a proposal for a homelessness prevention and remediation program in our area (this is technical but several people are already working on it and can provide specific information on what we need); helping with computer-related work like managing the web site, preparing brochures/flyers/tickets etc.; and helping out with the ESL classes both as subs when teachers are absent, and with promotion.

We also need to find better ways to assist individuals when they fall on hard times. One worker recently fell from the scaffolding on his job. He is badly disabled, and the process of trying to get the assistance to which he is entitled is long and frustrating. One of our members has been helping him as much as possible but the worker is discouraged and depressed. Having a friend who can offer support and encouragement would mean a lot! And there are many others who are always on the edge. Let us know if you can help–Spanish language is pretty important for this work.

And lots of other things! Let us know if you can help.

We are honored and humbled to report that our donors not only exceeded the goal we set in our fall campaign, but have continued to make very generous contributions. This is a confusing time for our small organization and even though we are not incurring major new expenses, we have not yet found a spot that we can call “Home.” Various churches have opened their doors to us for special meetings, etc., but if we are to continue the program we had been offering we need to find a place where we can have the lunch program as well as meeting space for our Saturday group, small wage theft meetings, spaces where we can offer educational programs (these are crucial now, with the future of immigration so much up in the air), and the individual counseling which takes so much of Angelica’s time.

Basically what we need is a place in Palisades Park between Palisades Ave. and Columbia, and between Broad and Grand. So please look around and see if there is something available! Thanks.

First Friends of NY/NJ is holding an information session on detention this Saturday, February 11, 2017, about the practice of immigration detention in Bergen County (and beyond), at the Johnson Public Library in Hackensack, from 1:30 – 3:00.

Speakers will be from First Friends and from the American Friends Service Committee. Both are organizations that CoFiA has worked closely with for many years, and we look forward to receiving the latest information about what is going on in the world of immigration and immigration detention. Free and open to the public.