Metuchen man seeking asylum released from ICE detention after two months
Sener Kalkan was held at Delaney Hall for 67 days, despite his pending asylum case.
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A Metuchen man is free after being detained at a scheduled immigration appointment more than two months ago.
Sener Kalkan was held at Delaney Hall for 67 days, despite his pending asylum case.
"Sener showed up to the hearing, appeared for the hearing, apparently passed the hearing while his wife Jennifer waited in the lobby," said Metuchen Mayor Jonathan Busch.
He said Kalkan was then asked to come back the same day.
"When he appeared again, Jennifer noticed that he hadn't returned. The next thing she knew, an hour or two later, she received a phone call from Delaney Hall saying that he'd been taken there," Busch said. "[He] reports to work, by all accounts has done everything his community has ever asked him to do, and to be treated this way is just dumbfounding."
However, when Kalkan's neighbors heard what had happened, they began to organize.
"We had a rally at the First Presbyterian Church a few weeks ago where Rep. Pallone joined us, and the amount of concern, the amount of interest, the amount of support...It was really inspiring," Busch said.
Lawmakers at the federal and local levels are pointing to Kalkan's case as an example of why they're advocating for reform.
"They had no right to take him from the beginning. If you're here doing everything you're supposed to do, seeking asylum, you shouldn't be taken away to a detention center, and then have to wait there for a period of time before you're released," said Rep. Frank Pallone. "It's just not right. It's not ethical. It's not legal, in my opinion.
Meanwhile, what happened to Kalkan has left many Metuchen residents feeling uncertain.
"I was born here. I don't have anything to worry about, but I am worried because it's very unknown," said local business owner Joanne Cruz.
News 12 has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for more details about why Kalkan was detained, but hasn't heard back yet.
