Kim Guadagno misses the point on sanctuary cities | Opinion

In a recent meeting with The Record’s editorial board, Lieutenant Gov. Kim Guadagno called the movement to get cities and towns to designate themselves as sanctuaries for immigrants a “political stunt,” saying that the declarations would not prevent customs officials from enforcing immigration laws and detaining undocumented immigrants. Guadagno misses the point of these designations and exposes her lack of understanding of New Jersey communities with large immigrant populations.

http://www.northjersey.com/story/opinion/contributors/2017/03/23/kim-guadagno-misses-point-sanctuary-cities/99528570/

Kim Guadagno misses the point on sanctuary cities

Christian EstevezUpdated 7:20 a.m. ET March 24, 2017

In a recent meeting with The Record’s editorial board, Lieutenant Gov. Kim Guadagno called the movement to get cities and towns to designate themselves as sanctuaries for immigrants a “political stunt,” saying that the declarations would not prevent customs officials from enforcing immigration laws and detaining undocumented immigrants. Guadagno misses the point of these designations and exposes her lack of understanding of New Jersey communities with large immigrant populations.

Cities are designating themselves as “fair and welcoming” out of a sincere desire to improve public safety for all residents by creating trust between immigrants and local law endorsement. President Donald Trump is trying to bully towns into doing the work of federal border patrol agents by threatening to withhold federal funds if they do not. The threat of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids alone has created a chilling effect in many communities throughout New Jersey and the nation as a whole. This fear is compounded by the idea that local police are actively helping ICE round up immigrants for deportation.

When trust between local law enforcement and immigrant communities breaks down, everyone in those communities suffers because immigrants become more reluctant to report crimes or act as witnesses to crimes out of fear of being deported if they come in contact with police. This makes it harder for the police to solve crimes and protect the community as a whole.

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WHAT TO KNOW: Sanctuary cities in N.J.

Throughout New Jersey, immigrants and their allies are asking municipalities to designate themselves as “Fair and Welcoming Communities” meaning that they will take a series of common-sense steps to enhance public safety and community policing efforts, decline voluntary assistance in federal deportation efforts, protect privacy and promote nondiscrimination at the local level.  These steps include establishing policies declaring that civil immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility and local officials will not voluntarily participate in or assist in federal immigration enforcement efforts.

These policies should also include strong privacy protections to ensure that municipal agencies and agents do not inquire about, maintain records about, or share confidential personal information, except where otherwise required by state or federal law, regulation, a directive or court order.  These policies should seek to strengthen protections against biased-based profiling and seek to strengthen non-discrimination protections in the provision of municipal services and the equal application of the law.  In addition, these policies seek to bolster community policing efforts by establishing procedures for U visa certifications, which protect immigrant victims of crime and encourage greater community cooperation with law enforcement efforts.

Guadagno’s statements are even more disturbing given that her office oversees the New Jersey Center for Hispanic Research and Development. After seven years overseeing the CHRD, the lieutenant governor has learned nothing about the Latino community or the needs of the many immigrant and mixed status families that make up the Latino community.

At a time when she should be condemning Trump’s attempts to use local police to bulk up his deportation forces, she is instead trying to dissuade immigrant communities from seeking service and protection from those who are sworn to provide it.

Nothing has changed for Guadagno, who as the sheriff in Monmouth County prior to being elected as lieutenant governor, instituted what is known as the 287(g) program, which allows states and local governments to partner with ICE by delegating authority to the local level.  Instead of standing up against Trump's destructive policies, she is aiding the president in his attempt to tear immigrant families apart.  By telling immigrants to stand down for fear of retribution from Trump, Guadagno shows a total lack of courage or leadership.

Christian Estevez is the president of the Latino Action Network, a broad, statewide coalition of individuals and organizations dedicated to Latino political empowerment, the promotion of civil rights and the elimination of disparities in the areas of education, health, and employment. It was founded in 2009.

Originally Published 9:58 a.m. ET March 23, 2017

Updated 7:20 a.m. ET March 24, 2017

PROFILE: A LATINO ADVOCATE WITH A FAMILY LEGACY OF REVOLUTION AND ACTIVISM

Profile: A Latino Advocate with a Family Legacy of Revolution and Activism - NJ Spotlight

By: Lee Keough

Christian Estevez, newly elected president of the Latino Action Network

Who: Christian Estevez, 42, newly elected president of the Latino Action Network

Home: Plainfield, born and raised. Estevez’s grandparents moved there in 1965, six years after they fled the Dominican Republic at the beginning of a revolution.

Latino Action Network: LAN is an umbrella group that lobbies and advocates state government on issues important to Latinos. When asked what those issues are, Estevez said “everything -- every issue touches Latinos.” Right now, LAN is active in pushing for the $15 minimum wage and earned sick days. It is also working with various consulates to help get residents municipal IDs. 

Estevez said that without any ID, Latinos cannot get bank accounts, making them easy targets for crime as they often carry cash. In order to get an ID, undocumented residents must provide some sort of proof of who they are -- not just that they live at a particular address. By working with consulates based in New York, LAN can have officials come to various cities here in New Jersey and examine documents Latinos brought from home to determine whether they are proof of identity.

His day job: Estevez is a union officer for Local 1037 of the Communications Workers of America. He said his work with unions and advocacy groups are naturals for him since “my entire childhood was spent in the union hall.” His mother, who was bilingual, worked in a union benefits department.

In fact, Estevez said the idea of helping workers was ingrained in him due to the experience of his great-uncle, who was a delegate for cigar workers and worked against the dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. His great-grandfather owned a cigar factory, he said, and his great-uncle -- who went to college -- worked as what was known as a “reader.” These were educated people who read stories to the workers as they rolled their cigars. 

“I grew up learning of him as a hero,” said Estevez. “Here was this privileged guy who identified with the workers and joined the fight against the dictator.” His uncle was “disappeared,” he said, during the revolution.

Biggest problem facing New Jersey Latinos: Segregation of the schools and towns, said Estevez. He used his own experience as an example. Estevez’s parents divorced when he was a teenager and his mother was having trouble making ends meet. He was angry, his grades suffered, and he was attending classes with 30 kids just like him. His older brothers decided to pool their resources with their mother and rent a small apartment four miles away in Westfield, so Estevez could enroll there for high school. 

“I was really fortunate. Westfield gave me lots of interventions; they threw all sorts of things at me left and right,” he said, including anger-management classes. He said there was nothing wrong with the Plainfield teachers but they had 30 kids in a class with the same problems and fewer resources. In Westfield, he was one kid with these issues and they had time to identify his problems, rather than just try to keep the class calm. He also had class role models.

“I made a complete turnaround,” said Estevez. “I became a reader. I learned not to use my fists. And I went to college.”

Said Estevez: “Abbott is a Band-Aid, it’s not the solution.”

Future political plans? “It’s not for me,” he said, after serving one term on the Plainfield school board. He said he didn’t like that everyone wants favors and demands something of politicians. “I’d rather be behind the scenes.”

Family and other interests: Married with three boys, ages 13, 9, and 7. He coaches sports with them -- soccer, baseball and in particular wrestling, which he excelled at in high school.

[This article originally appeared in NJ Spotlight on March 3, 2016. You can view the original article at:  http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/16/03/02/profile-a-latino-advocate-with-a-revolutionary-history/]

Latino Action Network and Coalition Partners Reach Agreement with Christie Administration to Set Aside Additional Sandy Relief Funds for Working Poor Families

Latino Action Network and Coalition Partners Reach Agreement with Christie Administration to Set Aside Additional Sandy Relief Funds for Working Poor Families

For Immediate Release: May 30, 2014

Contacts:

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

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

The Latino Action Network announced today that it has settled a fair housing complaint that it jointly filed with the NJ NAACP and Fair Share Housing Center challenging the State of New Jersey’s distribution of federal disaster recovery funds. The agreement reached with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the State of New Jersey requires significant changes to the use of federal funds for Hurricane Sandy recovery. The agreement is available on the Latino Action Network’s website here : LAN Hurricane Sandy Agreement

“This settlement will help Spanish-speaking New Jerseyans and others who are still out of their homes get information that wasn’t provided to them before, said Frank Argote-Freyre, President of the Latino Action Network.  “Spanish-speaking staff will be available at every recovery center and homeowners and renters will be given the chance to live in or closer to their homes that were damaged. We have one more chance to get this right, and I am hopeful that this agreement will help the state do a better job.” 

The agreement requires changes to the recovery effort which address the needs of Latinos, African-American and working poor families impacted by Sandy that have not been addressed to date. In response to erroneous information on the State’s website that had incorrect deadlines, the State is required to make its Sandy website fully bilingual, and provide equal access for people whose primary language is not English from the first day of applications for new programs. In response to findings that Latinos and African-Americans were rejected from the State’s main homeowner rebuilding program, the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation, and Mitigation [RREM] program, significantly more often than white non-Latino applicants, the State will reexamine all applications to make sure that applicants were not unfairly rejected. In response to a lower share of resources to renters displaced by Sandy, who are disproportionately Latino and African-American, the State will dedicate at least $240 million in additional immediate help and longer-term rebuilding funds to renters impacted by Sandy.

“Working poor families impacted by Sandy should have the same rights as everyone else to rebuild their homes and lives,” said Christian Estevez, Executive Vice-President of the Latino Action Network. “This agreement will help make the Sandy recovery more fair and inclusive.”

Key terms of the agreement include:

• Provides a minimum of $215 million in addition to $379 million previously allocated to build replacement homes for people impacted by Sandy, and for the first time sets firm targets for prioritizing the most impacted communities in New Jersey, especially the three most impacted counties, Ocean, Monmouth, and Atlantic, to ensure that people are not forced to leave their communities permanently as a result of the storm;
• Establishes a $15 million pool for immediate help for renters who are still displaced from Sandy, which can be used for up to two years while replacement homes are being built;
• Requires a re-review of the applications of everyone rejected from the RREM program, responding to information that nearly 80 percent of rejected applicants whose applications were reviewed were incorrectly rejected, with rejection rates 2.5x higher for African-Americans and 1.5x higher for Latinos;
•  Requires the State to provide equal access to non-English speakers for all programs funded with HUD’s disaster recovery funds and to build a bilingual website for all programs;
• Provides that as new programs open, there must be equal access for applicants whose primary language is not English from day one;
• Requires compliance with Section 3 requirements, which provide a preference for local contractors to do federally funded work and access the job opportunities over out of state contractors;
• Provides an additional $10 million in addition to $50 million previously allocated to help people with special needs impacted by Sandy;
• Provides enhanced outreach to low- and moderate-income communities that have been underserved by the recovery to date, including enhanced partnerships with community groups and housing counseling to help people who are facing financial distress in recovering from Sandy, and integrates outreach to Spanish and Portuguese speaking communities into this outreach process;
• Provides a minimum of $10 million to help people in manufactured homes recover from Sandy and rebuild or replace their homes, including the heavily Latino portions of Moonachie impacted by Sandy;
• Allows applicants to get funds without a substantial damage letter previously required by the state, which has been a particular problem for Latinos in the Ironbound section of Newark and elsewhere, and allows both renters and owners to show concrete proof of damage through other means such as home inspections if FEMA calculated damage incorrectly;  
• Requires the State to comply with the Open Public Records Requests related to Sandy in a timely fashion and to provide more public information to make sure Sandy funds are being distributed fairly.

The Latino Action Network and other complainants were represented by Kevin D. Walsh and Adam M. Gordon of Fair Share Housing Center based in Cherry Hill, NJ and Michael Allen of the civil rights firm Relman, Dane & Colfax, PLLC, based in Washington, D.C.

Latino Action Network Announces Support For Marriage Equality

The Latino Action Network [LAN] today announced its support for the Marriage Equality and Religious Exemption Act and urged quick passage by the State Legislature.  You can read LAN's press release below.  Please take action today by calling your Assembly representatives and ask them to vote "YES" on this important legislation.

You can find contact information for your legislative representatives at the following link:

http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/districts/municipalities.asp

Latino Action Network Announces Support For Marriage Equality

For Immediate Release: February 15, 2012

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

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

            The Latino Action Network [LAN] today announced its support for the Marriage Equality and Religious Exemption Act and urged quick passage by the State Legislature.

            “We congratulate the State Senate for passing the legislation on Monday and urge the Assembly to do the same tomorrow,” said Frank Argote-Freyre, President of the Latino Action Network. “Marriage Equality is an important civil rights issue and we believe it is long overdue in the state of New Jersey.”

Latino Action Network Testifies in Support of Assembly Bill 2147 Which Would Increase Accountability and Transparency in New Jersey Charter Schools

On Thursday, February 2, 2012 the New Jersey Assembly Education Committee considered Assembly bill 2147 (bills A3356/S3005/S3001 last session), which would increase Charter School educational and financial accountability and transparency and address the fact that New Jersey Charter School students do not represent the demographics of their sending districts.  Christian Estevez, Executive Vice President of the Latino Action Network, testified in support of A-2147 which would reform the state’s broken charter school law.  This bill was favorably reported out of committee by a unanimous bipartisan vote.  You can read his testimony below.

TESTIMONY BY

THE LATINO ACTION NETWORK

BEFORE THE NEW JERSEY ASSEMBLY EDUCATION COMMITTEE

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

DELIVERED BY:

Christian Estevez, Executive Vice President

Latino Action Network

P.O. Box 943

Freehold, NJ 07728

Phone: (973) 418-7012

esteveznj@gmail.com

Good afternoon, my name is Christian Estevez and I am the Vice President of the Latino Action Network.  We are a statewide advocacy organization dedicated to mobilizing New Jersey’s Latino community to seek greater social, economic and educational justice.

I thank you for the opportunity to testify today in support of Assembly Bill A-2147 which improves accountability and transparency in New Jersey’s Charter Schools.

While our state has some of the best schools in the nation, it is also abundantly clear that many of the schools in our urban communities are in crisis.  We must do everything that we can to improve the educational opportunities available to the children in our urban communities.  We recognize that quality Charter Schools can play an important role in the provision of additional educational opportunities for our children.

We see quality Charter Schools as a part of the solution to the crisis faced by many Latino families.  We welcome any approach that contributes positively toward helping those children with the most need.  However, in cases where any school, whether they are a Charter School or a regular public school, is not providing quality opportunities to our children, they become part of the problem instead of being part of the solution.