The Avenel community is rallying around the family of a young man who was one of 46 people taken into custody during a raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Jhonatan Bello Cabrera is a recent high school graduate from Elizabeth, but his life changed on Oct. 29.
"The way I heard about the news was quite traumatic for some of the students I would say because a student came to my classroom after I had finished one of my periods," Sebastian Torres, Jhonatan's former teacher, said.
"He pulled out his cellphone and he showed me some footage showing that Jhonatan had been apprehended. It was quite shocking to see his face on a news story."
Cabrera's mother is now raising money for legal fees to bring him home.
Several community members are offering their support, including Jhonatan's former teacher.
"Upon hearing the news, many of my colleagues began circulating a GoFundMe that his mom had created in order to cover legal fees," Torres said. "I recognized some of the people that donated as some of my colleagues so that's really nice to see. Also, other students have donated."
Torres says Jhonathan graduated from Dwyer Technology Academy in Elizabeth last year.
He told News 12 his former student was a Colombian immigrant working toward a permanent stay.
According to the GoFundMe set up by Jhonathan's mother, he was working his first job at the warehouse to save up money for college where the raid happened.
"Very respectful student, very hard-working. I knew he had been working for quite a while since I had him sophomore year. Sometimes, he appeared tired in class because I knew he was trying to help support his family," Torres said.
According to ICE records, Cabrera is being held at Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark.
At the time of the raid in Avenel, the Department of Homeland Security sent out a statement saying it was part of "…ongoing efforts to ensure compliance with customs and immigration regulations, safeguard the integrity of the supply chain, and verify that warehouse operators are adhering to all applicable security requirements."
