In the wake of another arrest of an area immigrant, a Latino advocacy group raised more than $3,000 in a fundraiser Friday to support immigrants' issues.
The event, organized by the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund, attracted more than 100 people.
The money will help jumpstart an immigration information hotline and establish a database of attorneys to whom callers can turn for assistance, according to Maria Juego, chair of the fund.
"Anyone can call the hotline if they have a fear of imminent arrests or enforcement actions," Juega said.
Just two days earlier, Sergio Valdez, a longtime employee of McCaffrey's supermarket in Princeton, was arrested at work in the latest in a series of raids.
Valdez had begun the process of obtaining legal status with the sponsorship of his employer, Juega said.
"He had an order of deportation and was attempting to file for asylum," she said.
Valdez was taken to a detention center in Elizabeth.
Concern has been rising in the local Hispanic community after arrests of illegal immigrants in four cities in the last month. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has made arrests in Trenton, Lawrenceville, Hamilton and Princeton.
Representatives of the ICE could not be reached for comment.
Juega said the fundraiser, which was held in Trinity Church on Nassau Street, "brought the community together."
Juan Gonzalez '06, who performed at the fundraiser with the University's Ballet Folklorico, said that while Hispanic students might not be directly affected, they are still connected to the community's immigration issues.
"We all have family members or are descendents of immigrants," he said. "We are part of this type of movement."
The effects of the ICE arrests have been felt around the community. Raul Calvimontes, an immigration activist and the owner of Pelusa Travel, said that immigrants who settled in Princeton to wait for legal status are feeling increasingly threatened.
"The chasing is new here," he said. "This is something that cannot happen to Princeton. It is a place where there are a lot of people dedicated to education and living together as a community."
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