Community leaders, elected officials call for release of Raul Raagas detained by ICE in N.J.

Community organizations, labor advocates, and elected officials are calling for the immediate release of Filipino immigrant Raul Raagas, a 63-year-old Jersey City resident who is being held at the Elizabeth Detention Center after his arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Raagas was detained on July 24 after he was stopped while driving to work in Kearny, N.J. According to supporters, he was first taken to an ICE processing center before being transferred to the CoreCivic-operated Elizabeth Detention Center, where he remains in custody.

The case has galvanized Filipino American organizations, immigrant rights advocates, labor groups, and public officials, who argue that Raagas’ detention represents the growing impact of stricter immigration enforcement on long-term immigrants with deep family and community ties.

Raagas has lived in the United States for more than three decades. He resides in Jersey City with his wife, Janet, and their two children, and is a member of NASTU Local 741, which represents waste management workers.

His family describes him as a devoted husband, father, and provider. “Anyone who knows Raul knows how kind and strong a person he is,” said his son, Jonovan.

“He’s always there when you need him, and he’s always there to listen. He’s a role model for my sister and me. It hurts my heart every hour he is not home. We need him here; we can’t rest without knowing that he’s okay.”

Janet Raagas said the family has been devastated by his detention.

“Truth be told, I am in a lot of pain,” she said. “Raul is a good person, a good father, kind, and a good provider. Through his labor and taxes, he contributes to the American economy.”

Officials urge due process

Among those calling for Raagas’ release is Jersey City Councilman-at-Large Rolando Lavarro, who said he has spoken with Raagas’ wife and formally urged the court to grant him bond.

“Raul Raagas is my constituent and my Kababayan — a devoted father and husband who has spent more than three decades building his life in this country and this city, only to be torn from his family and held in a detention cell,” Lavarro said.

He added that Raagas’ case reflects the experiences of many immigrant families across New Jersey.

“Hardworking, deeply rooted families across our state and country are being torn apart the same way, and it is wrong. Raul belongs home with his family, and I demand an end to his detention and an immigration system rooted in due process, fairness, and basic human dignity.”

New York State Assemblymember Steven Raga also called for Raagas’ immediate release.

“I call on ICE to immediately release Raul Raagas and return him to his family and community,” Raga said.

He described it as “unconscionable” that a longtime community member was placed in immigration detention following what supporters say was a minor traffic stop.

“Raul deserves fair treatment, dignity, and the opportunity to be with his family while his case proceeds. I demand that ICE respect his constitutional and legal rights and end his detention immediately.”

Community groups condemn detention

Maria Arroyo, vice chair of Migrante USA and a founding member of Tanggol Migrante Movement (TMM), linked Raagas’ detention to broader immigration enforcement policies.

“Kuya Raul is detained during Trump’s biggest escalation towards migrants yet,” Arroyo said, citing increased immigration detention numbers.

Jackelyn Mariano, executive director of Mission to End Modern Slavery, said many migrants leave their home countries because of economic hardship and are then subjected to increasingly aggressive immigration enforcement.

“The Trump administration’s increasing immigration arrest quotas are targeting migrants who have come to the U.S. in search of economic livelihood, often forced to leave their home countries where they faced poverty, war, and climate calamities,” Mariano said.

Advocates say Raagas’ detention highlights the circumstances that compel many Filipinos to seek employment overseas.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, an estimated 2.19 million Filipinos worked abroad in 2024, a 1.5 percent increase from the previous year. The figure does not include many Filipinos working overseas who are not officially classified as Overseas Filipino Workers.