Latino Action Network Urges Governor Christie to Maintain Commission on New Americans

Network Urges Governor Christie to Maintain Commission on New Americans

“Voice for Immigrant Community in New Administration”

For Immediate Release: March 15, 2010

Christian Estevez, Steering Committee Member – 973-418-7012

 

The Latino Action Network [LAN] today called on Governor Chris Christie to maintain the Commission on New Americans as a voice for the immigrant community within his administration.

“The Commission provides an opportunity for the Christie Administration to continue the conversation about how to best integrate New Jersey’s growing immigrant community into the economy and culture of New Jersey,” said Christian Estevez, a member the LAN Steering Committee and formerly a member of the Governor's Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel on Immigrant Policy.

“The establishment of the Commission was an important recommendation of the Blue Ribbon Panel and we hope Governor Christie will maintain it,” Estevez continued. “Immigrants are vitally important to the future of New Jersey and they need to be represented in the government.”

The Christie Administration is currently reviewing all existing commissions and government agencies to search for savings to the taxpayers. “All of the members of the Commission are volunteers dedicating their time and resources, so there is little or no cost to the state,” Estevez noted.

 

New Jersey is one of the immigrant gateways to the nation and it has one of the largest foreign-born populations in the country. Immigrants make up 28 percent of New Jersey’s workforce and bring in 23 percent of all earnings.