Christie Hypocrisy on Display: New Jersey Joins Lawsuit to Block Obama’s Executive Order on Immigration

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie with Mitt Romney during 2012 presidential campaign stop.  Romney at the time took the position that the United States should make life so hard on immigrants that they would deport themselves.

Christie Hypocrisy on Display

New Jersey Joins Lawsuit to Block Obama’s Executive Order on Immigration

For Immediate Release: March 26, 2015

Contacts:

Frank Argote-Freyre, President – 908-670-0552

Christian Estevez, Executive Vice President – 973-418-7012

Rudy Rodas, Co-Chair, Immigration Committee – 201-381-1819

Statement of the Latino Action Network Steering Committee

            Governor Christie yesterday, in a cynical political ploy, entered New Jersey into a federal lawsuit aimed at blocking an executive order by President Obama allowing some undocumented immigrants to remain in the country without fear of deportation. The move underlies the hypocrisy Governor Christie has always displayed towards the Latino community. To national audiences he has proclaimed himself a candidate with appeal in the Latino community while guarding any details about his national policies on immigration. New Jersey’s entry into the lawsuit, although nearly 20 percent of the state’s population are Latinos, should serve as a wake-up call to anyone in the community that considers him a friend.

Christie’s efforts to secure the Republican presidential nomination have led him to undermine one of the most significant bills he signed into law during his tenure as the State’s Chief Executive. When Christie signed the In-State Tuition Equality bill in 2013 at Union City High School, he essentially articulated the need for immigration reform as the basis of his support of undocumented students. The Governor said at the time:  “Even if you're cold-hearted about this, you can agree with the common sense of the economics.” “[O]ur job, I believe, as a government, is to give every one of these children, who we have already invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in, an opportunity to maximize that investment.”

By fighting against the expansion of executive programs that would give undocumented students permission to work legally in the United States, Christie is hindering these students’ ability to pay for their college education.

President Obama announced the executive order last year after Congress failed again to enact comprehensive immigration reform.