More than 5,000 people have been arrested by ICE in New Jersey since the start of the second Trump term, and the number of detainees at the immigration detention facility Delaney Hall in Newark has tripled up to more than 800 people from September to November.

Immigration attorneys are struggling to keep up as the nature of many of these detention cases has also changed over the last year.

Joining us now to explain what they're dealing with is Alexandra Gonsalves-Pena, Legal Director of the New Jersey Immigrant Rights Program at American Friends Service Committee.

Alexandra, great to have you with us tonight.

Just help us understand, I know you represent individuals who are facing immigration battles in court.

How have these cases changed in the last year?

Absolutely.

And thank you so much for having me on to discuss this very, very important issue.

So as a result of efforts by the recent administration to deprive non-citizens of due process through the use of mandatory detention and limited access to asylum, we have seen the variety of cases that we have managed change dramatically.

As a result, many of my colleagues, the team here at American Crime Service Committee have had to pivot dramatically, relying more on federal courts than we ever did before.

Unfortunately, due to the myriad changes that we have seen through this administration.

When you say, I'm going to stop you right there.

When you say relying on federal courts, what do you mean by that?

Absolutely.

So due to policy changes that the Trump administration has pushed through, which has essentially made it increasingly more difficult for non-citizens to be released from custody, it's expanding mandatory detention, which was something that traditionally was for a smaller group of individuals, and now expanding this dramatically, such that thousands more people are now subject to mandatory detention.

As a result of that, it is becoming increasingly more difficult, if not impossible, to get us, our Ghanaian citizens, actually out of detention.

And as a result, we have to go to federal courts, relying on our federal courts, filing, for example, writs of habeas corpus, which is a process by which we are asking the courts to release our clients, to release the non-citizens.

Many times we are succeeding.

Unfortunately, sometimes we are not succeeding.

But, unfortunately, the reality is that the demand is quickly outpacing, as it has always outpaced, the ability for us to actually provide services to a large group of people.

Let me ask you this.

What do we know about the people being detained.

The Trump administration says that it wants to remove individuals who are threats to society.

What do we know about the percentage of individuals with a criminal record who are being detained in New Jersey right now?

Well, in New Jersey, I mean, as well as nationally, there are reports about the percentage being incredibly low.

I don't have exact numbers, unfortunately, but the percentage is very minimal.

And we're seeing that the vast majority of individuals in detention are individuals with absolutely no criminal history at all.

So that, you know, justification is absolutely untrue, incorrect, and I think it's just part of the narrative that he keeps pushing to convince individuals that this is only targeting a select group of people when it is actually not.

It is not targeting a specific group of people.

It is actually, you know, It is impacting the individuals that are detained.

It is impacting their family members.

It is impacting, you know, when people are detained, they are unable to continue with their jobs.

It is impacting local businesses.

You know, this is having -- this goes beyond impacting just the immigrant community.

It affects everybody within the state of New Jersey.

>> The data shows that an individual with legal representation is about 10 times, more than 10 times more likely to have their case resolved to win their case.

Are you able to keep up with the influx of detainees that we've seen just even in the last couple months?

>> Which is absolutely heartbreaking because we're seeing many individuals with viable claims for relief.

You know, the cases have become much more difficult.

Traditionally, even without all of these policy changes that have been pushed through by the Trump administration, immigration law has always been incredibly difficult.

It's incredibly nuanced.

You know, you have to have a certain level of skill to succeed in these cases.

Unfortunately, now, with all of these policy changes, it's making the work even more difficult.

And it's requiring all attorneys, not just from our team here at the FSC, to become nimble, to adjust to these changes, to learn new areas of law, to learn how to practice in other venues.

We're trying all that we can.

And it's really incredible to see how wonderfully the legal services community is responding.

However, the reality of the matter is that we cannot keep up with the demands.

And it is so important, now more than ever, that we get commitment from the state, from the governor-elect, from our legislators, to provide additional funding to ensure that we're able to meet the needs as best as possible.

And just the short amount of time that we have left, what can you tell us about the cases where there is no legal representation?

Do you know what percentage of individuals have been or are going to be deported?

Unfortunately, I at least unfortunately don't have that exact percentage.

But from what we are seeing, just from going to the detention facilities, doing intakes, so many people are actually deciding to go back on their own, to take the removal order, to ask for a voluntary departure, which I think is the ultimate intention of the Trump administration, right, to get people removed from this country as quickly as possible.

And, you know, unfortunately, we're just seeing so many people decide to leave because they don't want to stay, you know, in these detention centers where, you know, there are -- the conditions are less than, you know, good, and they're having a lot of trouble.

>> All right.

Alexandra Goncalves-Pena, that's all the time we have.

But thank you so much for your insight on this.

Thank you so much.

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