President Trump is threatening to take federal money from towns -- including many in New Jersey -- that refuse to join his extremely costly mass deportation system. 

http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2017/03/nj_towns_shouldnt_be_forced_to_help_fund_trumps_ma.html

If Trump defunds 'sanctuary cities,' N.J. will pay more for mass deportations | Opinion

Star-Ledger Guest Columnist

Posted on March 27, 2017 at 6:10 PM

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Monday that the Trump administration will "claw back" funding to so-called "sanctuary cities" if they refuse to inform Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials after placing an unauthorized immigrant in custody. (Photo by Shawn Thew | EPA)

By Rudy A. Rodas 

President Trump is threatening to take federal money from towns -- including many in New Jersey -- that refuse to join his extremely costly mass deportation system. 

Let's be clear. The issue of "sanctuary cities" is not a problem because towns want to protect noncriminal immigrants.  The problem is that Trump is forcing towns to spend their money and resources on his deportation force. 

Taking federal funds away from municipalities that do not comply could put the jobs of local police officers and teachers at risk. This is a bad policy by the federal government -- a problem that needs an immediate bipartisan response from New Jersey elected officials.

Democratic State Sen. Brian Stack has proposed legislation to help municipalities pay their bills if Trump withholds federal funds. A separate state fund would replace these losses. Unfortunately, Republicans across the board have refused to support this legislation.

Gov. Chris Christie threatened to veto the bill. Gubernatorial candidate and Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli stated that he believes in compassionate immigration reform, but he also stated he is against this legislation. He claims towns that adopt policies like sanctuary cities place public safety at risk and cost New Jersey taxpayers billions.

Ciattarelli's reasoning does not make sense. Towns do not want to help Trump because it is a waste of their money and resources to focus on people who are not a threat to public safety. They want to spend money on education, community activities, road improvements, and local public safety initiatives. They also want to maintain the trust between police and the undocumented communities that help keep their neighborhoods safe.  

This fiscal year, municipalities in the state are expected to receive $15.7 billion in federal funds. Trump is threatening towns to either spend time and money on helping him deport people or lose these federal funds. Either way, these towns will not be able to use this money to make positive improvements in their community.

It actually is more expensive for taxpayers if towns agree to become a part of Trump's mass deportation system. 

There are 500,000 unauthorized immigrants in New Jersey. Many have been in New Jersey longer in their countries of birth. Many are married to U.S. citizens and have U.S. citizen children. They haven't applied for legal status for risk of being separated from their family. Despite their challenges, they work hard at their jobs, start businesses, coach their kids' sports teams, volunteer at their churches, and pay their taxes. (According to the Institute on Economic Policy and Taxation, New Jersey's undocumented immigrants contribute nearly $600 million in state and local taxes).

It is state taxpayers and the economy that will face the financial consequences of the federal government's plan to uproot thousands of families. U.S. citizen children left behind will become wards of the state. They will require additional government, social, and educational resources. 

Multiple sectors of the economy will suffer from the labor shortage.  A study by the Center for American Progress showed that if all unauthorized immigrants from New Jersey were deported, the state economy would lose almost $26 billion in annual gross domestic product.

In its entirety, Trump's mass deportation program of raiding, arresting, and jailing will destabilize our state economy and cost New Jersey taxpayers more money than we have to spend.

New Jersey lawmakers should draw lessons from their recent bipartisan efforts to treat wide-spread opioid addiction in the state.  

Christie chose to spend state funds on rehabilitating nonviolent offenders because it costs more to incarcerate them. He also recognized the emotional hardships families suffered and wanted to focus on keeping families together.

Along the same lines, it will cost less taxpayer money for the state government to support towns that want to spend funds on improving their communities instead of causing hardships to thousands of families.  

Last November, the majority of New Jersey voters did not vote for Donald Trump. We proved our belief in compassion, equality, and strong family values.

Now, the Trump administration challenges our values. Trump believes in wielding a heavy hand. He wants to arrest and jail his way out of problems no matter the cost to taxpayers. 

This is bad policy for New Jerseyans, it's a bad idea for the nation.

Rudy A. Rodas is chairman of the Immigration Committee at the Latino Action Network, a New Jersey coalition of Latino organizations dedicated to political empowerment, the promotion of civil rights, and the elimination of disparities in the areas of education, health, and employment. 

Sessions announces actions against sanctuary cities

 

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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.

STILE: Candidates for governor play it safe, skimp on details

NEW JESEY: First look at the 2017 governor's race

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

Latino Action Network Denounces Muslim Ban and Wall of Hate along the Mexican Border

Latino Action Network Denounces Muslim Ban and 

Wall of Hate along the Mexican Border

 

Actions are “anti-democratic”

 

For Immediate Release: January 31, 2017

Contact:

Christian Estevez, President – 973-418-7012

 

The Latino Action Network [LAN] today denounced the discriminatory policies of the Trump Administration and pledged to support efforts to challenge the partial ban on Muslims entering the country. The religious ban coupled with the recent proposal to construct a wall of hate along the southern border are “anti-democratic and undermine the core principles of our nation.”

 

“The Trump Administration is sowing seeds of hate and division across the nation,” said LAN President Christian Estevez. “We will do all we can in the months and years ahead to support our Muslim and Mexican sisters and brothers. The LAN pledges to take part in all efforts in the courts and in the streets to oppose our hateful and narcissistic president.”

 

President Trump signed an executive order on January 25 promoting the construction of a wall along the Mexican border as part of his ongoing smear campaign against the Latino community who at various times he has linked to rapists and criminals. It is important to note that for the first time in 20 years there are no Latinos in the federal cabinet.

 

The border wall executive order was followed on January 27 by the equally offensive order imposing a partial Muslim entry ban from seven different nations. It is important to note that countries where Trump owns properties were not included in the list of Muslim nations in the executive order. 

 

“Trump represents the greatest threat to American democracy since the Nixon Administration,” Estevez continued. “He is a narcissist and a racist and we will not sit idly by and watch him dismantle our democratic traditions.”

 

LAN is a broad, statewide coalition of Latino organizations dedicated to 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.

 

N.J. Supreme Court must reject systemic racism in affordable housing debate

 

N.J. Supreme Court must reject systemic racism in affordable housing debate | Opinion

By Richard T. Smith and Christian 

Estevez

 

After 16 long years of Trenton gridlock, New Jersey municipalities are finally making meaningful progress addressing our state's pressing housing affordability crisis.

 

Thanks to a New Jersey Supreme Court decision handed down last year that turned over enforcement of our state's fair-housing laws to the judiciary, hundreds of municipalities are in the process of developing plans to provide tens of thousands of homes to meet the needs of working families, seniors and those with disabilities.

 

More than 70 towns have already reached agreements on their affordable housing obligations, which add up to more than 20,000 units. These settlements clear the way to quickly begin development on projects that provide decent, stable homes for New Jersey families in safe neighborhoods with access to jobs and good schools.

All of these recent advancements illustrate that a consensus is forming in New Jersey that municipalities can and should tackle their responsibility to provide fair-housing opportunities for families under the state constitution's Mount Laurel doctrine.

 

At heart, New Jersey's fair-housing laws aren't just about building homes. They're also about expanding ladders of opportunity to the middle class for the many thousands of families who are priced out of our state's many thriving communities.

 

While our state boasts some of the most desirable towns in the nation,  longstanding patterns of exclusionary zoning have shut too many New Jersey families out of the American Dream. These unconstitutional obstacles have hit minority communities -- especially African-Americans and Latinos -- the hardest.

 

Yet the progress we have made is being threatened by a group of recalcitrant municipalities that are seeking to undermine the Mount Laurel doctrine by pursuing a strategy of delay and obstruction. These towns are arguing they should not be held responsible for any of the state's fair-housing needs that accrued during a 16-year gap period beginning in 1999,  when bureaucratic gridlock kept New Jersey's fair-housing laws from being enforced.

 

In essence, these towns are arguing they should be able to ignore the many challenges New Jersey families confronted during this time, ranging from the Great Recession to the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy and the state's ongoing foreclosure crisis.

 

These legal arguments would artificially paper over up to 60 percent of the state's housing need. This means that tens of thousands of New Jersey families will never have the chance to move into homes they can afford in the state's many thriving communities. And it will cement our state's long history of racial and socioeconomic segregation for another generation.

 

That's why our organizations have joined together to submit a friend of the court brief laying out the impact of this case on the struggle for racial integration in New Jersey. That brief has been accepted by the court.

Almost as disturbing is the housing study that these towns are relying on to make these dangerous arguments. The study, written by Philadelphia-based Econsult Solutions, relies on a deeply flawed understanding that ignores the systemic racism which disadvantages New Jersey's minority communities, especially African-Americans and Latinos.

 

It argues that houses which have recently sold for up to a half-million dollars should be classified as affordable.

 

And Econsult principal Peter Angelides testified recently at an Ocean County fair-housing proceeding that there was "no measure" to indicate that New Jersey's minority communities still suffered from housing discrimination -- an astounding,  out-of-touch statement directly contradicting statistics showing that our state is one of the most segregated in the nation.

 

The New Jersey Supreme Court is set to take up the question of whether towns must truly do their fair share to respond to our state's housing crisis on Nov. 30.

 

The justices must reject these towns' radical ideology and vindicate their own 2015 landmark fair-housing ruling. The process the court established must be allowed to continue so that we can finally bring an end to the decades of litigation surrounding this issue.

 

It's time to turn to the work of building a state in which black and Latino families are no longer excluded.

 

Richard T. Smith is president of the NAACP New Jersey State Conference 

(info@NJNAACP.org).

 

Christian Estevez is president of the Latino Action Network (esteveznj@gmail.com).

 

Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.

 

 

http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2016/11/nj_supreme_court_must_reject_systemic_racism_in_af.html#incart_river_home

Registration is now open for the 2017 LAN Legislative Conference

2017 LAN Legislative Conference

You are cordially invited to the 2017 Latino Action Network’s Annual Legislative Conference. The conference will take place on Saturday, January 28, 2017 at the Robert Treat Hotel Conference Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Admission is FREE and open to all. Registration is required as seats are limited.

2017 LAN Legislative Conference Online Registration Form

Given the current climate created by the election of Donald Trump as the next President of the United States, it is more important than ever that Latinos have a space to meet to make our plans to resist attacks against us and other vulnerable communities.

The LAN Legislative Conference is the largest gathering of Latino community organizers and public policy advocates in the State of New Jersey. Last year's conference was attended by over 250 activists from every corner of the state.

The conference will include a full program, with keynote presentations and dynamic workshops with panels discussing a full array of issues in accordance with our Legislative Agenda for 2017. 

We will be hosting a variety of panels aimed at supplementing and enhancing our legislative agenda. The panels will focus on immigration, education, health disparities, the state budget process, labor issues and affordable housing. We are asking you consider attend one of the panels based on your legislative priorities.

This event is hosted by the Latino Action Network (LAN) in collaboration with The Latino Institute, Inc., a private, non-profit, charitable organization, and the Latino Coalition, a member organization of the LAN.

We are looking forward to your presence, as we work together to benefit the Latino community.

Pa’lante,

Christian Estevez, President

Latino Action Network

Register for New Jersey Working Families Summit!

Register for New Jersey Working Families Summit! 

Join NJ advocates from across the state as We Take Back the Garden State!

Policy and solution discussions in the areas of Education, Housing, Transportation, Economic Justice and much more!

Connect to progressives, leaders and activists from across the state.  Share information on how to rebuild a post-Christie New Jersey. Develop a progressive platform to demand change in Trenton.

Follow the link below to register:

https://actionnetwork.org/forms/register-for-new-jersey-working-families-summit

IF WE SNOOZE, WE LOSE - UNDERSTANDING THE REAL POWER OF THE LATINO VOTE – PART I

By Nayeli Salazar de León (Nelli's Notes)

As we approach the General Election on November 8, many Latino Americans find ourselves anxiously reflecting on our families' migration stories, our personal ethics and morals, and our political values. For some, this will be the first time they are eligible to vote as naturalized citizens, and for others, it will be the first time they will exercise their right as citizens by casting a vote. "A projected 13 million Latino Americans are expected at the ballots this November, 450,000 of which are from New Jersey," confirms Roberto Frugone, Northeast Regional Director of the NALEO Educational Fund. Projected voter turnout is calculated by NALEO based on the overall number of eligible Latino voters (Potential #) and the average number of active voters from the last three election cycles (Actual #).

During a press conference in 2014 at Senator Menendez's Hispanic Heritage Celebration, Univision's Jorge Ramos, an acclaimed Mexican-born American news anchor, was asked "¿Cuál es tu mensaje a los Latinos de este país para que participen en la votación?" (What is your message to the Latinos of this country, so that they participate in the vote?) Ramos responded, "Nuestro gran reto es pasar de muchos números a poder político real. Somos muchos pero no tenemos el poder político que nos corresponde." (Our biggest challenge is to transition from strength in numbers to real political power. There are many of us, but we do not have the corresponding political power.) One important part of the political power to which Ramos refers is reflected in the overall number of eligible Latino voters (potential voters) and the percentage of those that actually cast a ballot (actual number). Figures 1 and 2 illustrate November's projected Latino voters as a percentage of potential voters, estimating just 48% participation nationally and 55% statewide in New Jersey. Acceptable? I will let you decide!

Nevertheless, as Figure 3 shows, this year's projected Latino turnout in New Jersey reflects an increase of 4% over the 2012 General Election, when 51% of all eligible Latino voters in New Jersey hit the polls. What is striking is not only the 9% who were registered and did not vote, but rather, the additional 39% who either had not registered or were marked as "no response". So, what are some of the causes linked to this lack of participation? According to Ray Carrera, an elected Commissioner for the Passaic Board of Education, there are three principal disabling factors: "1) History of political corruption in country of origin, 2) Need for democratic process and voter registration education, and 3) Trust that a collective vote can make difference." 

These challenges can be overcome with these consistent and positive community-driven messages: 1) We are American citizens; 2) We can trust the American democratic system; 3) We can safely seek guidance and resources on processes we may not understand; and 4) We can be confident in our socioeconomic contributions to this country. Through this messaging, we, as a collective, might begin to more effectively influence our country's politics and leadership. Regardless of what drives you to abstain from or participate in this year's election, one thing is certain: our vote is our voice, and to stay home is to forego your right to make that voice heard.

####

Note: Nayeli Salazar serves as Vice President of the Latino Action Network.  

Let’s chat! Find me on Facebook, email me at nayeli.salazar@skalatranslation.com or call me at 973.769.0046

A special thanks to all my demographical contributors and editor and dear friend Michael Reimer