MONROE – Middlesex County Freeholder Shanti Narra was a guest speaker at the Indivisible of Monroe Township’s July 24 meeting, held at the Monroe Township Public Library.
Narra’s talk focused on the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Middlesex County, a key issue for Indivisible members. A critical concern is the practice by ICE officials of issuing immigration detainers, a tool for holding potentially deportable individuals who are in custody for up to 48 hours beyond their actual release time, giving ICE officers more time to reach them, according to information provided by the organization.
Narra explained that because these detainers are voluntary, they are not legal, do not have to be adhered to, and in fact are not being honored in Middlesex County, according to the statement.
Narra is a graduate of Georgetown University and Georgetown University Law Center. She is a practicing attorney with the Legal Aid Society of New York, where she supervises the Criminal Defense Division.
As a freeholder, she chairs the county’s Public Health and Safety Committee.
“We are fortunate to have Shanti Narra here to educate us on this critical issue,” Rona Malkin, Indivisible of Monroe Township co-chair, said in the statement. “It is now up to each of us to use our power as voters to hold our legislators at all levels of government accountable for these abuses.”
Malkin urged attendees to get involved in the upcoming mid-term elections by volunteering for Indivisible of Monroe Township’s Campaign 2018, headed by committee member Phil Sloan. Those interested can find more information at monroe.indivisible.blue.
Indivisible of Monroe Township is a grassroots activist organization, one of 6,000 affiliates nationwide. Its mission is to promote a progressive agenda and ideals and to effect change through legislative advocacy, education and community outreach.