Advocates call on Senate President Scutari (LD22) to follow the lead of constituents and Union County leaders and advance the Immigrant Trust Act in the state legislature.
ELIZABETH – On Thursday evening, the Union County Board of Commissioners sent a resoundingly clear call to Trenton lawmakers with their unanimous 9 – 0 vote in support of the Immigrant Trust Act (S-3672 / A-4987) in the state legislature. As DHS and ICE continue to create chaos through their increasingly illegal and violent arrests on the nation’s most vulnerable communities, immigrant justice advocates say it is up to state and local leaders to protect New Jersey as a beacon of safety and humanity.
Advocates are applauding the passage of the resolution and calling on Senate President Scutari to advance the Immigrant Trust Act with hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee and a floor vote by the full Senate in the upcoming Lame Duck legislative session. On Monday, advocates and Union County residents visited LD22 legislative offices to ask Senator Scutari, Assemblywoman Carter, and Assemblyman Kennedy to represent their constituents and join on as cosponsors of the legislation, and champions calling for hearings to be held (which Scutari and Carter, in their leadership positions, have direct power over).
“No family, no child, no hardworking member of the community should have to be suffering the climate of fear and danger that the persecution of immigrants is creating,” said Jaime Rojas, a resident of Plainfield and member of Wind of the Spirit Immigrant Resource Center (WOTS). “For kids to worry about whether they’ll see their parents when they get home from school, for families to lose their breadwinner and stand in the rain while their loved ones are held captive by ICE, for masked gunmen to be roaming our streets endangering everyone with a brown face and anyone who gets in their way whether citizen or not, is unacceptable. The Commissioners showed they won’t accept it, and they will stand between us and these forces if they can. They listened to us, and now Senate President Scutari, Assembly Speaker Coughlin and Governor Murphy need to hear their voices and ours and pass the ITA.”
“We applauded the Commissioners’ rejection of a new ICE jail in Union County earlier this year,” said Adam McGovern of WOTS in Plainfield. “They set the example for Senate President Scutari, who also went on to praise their decision. We hope that their action to unanimously support the ITA, and their vocal expressions of the value of and duty to their constituents of all cultures and diverse status, will now serve as a similar model to the Senate President in letting this overdue bill now move swiftly through the legislature and reach Governor Murphy’s desk.”
“Asian Americans are over 1 million strong in New Jersey – many of whom call Union County home. We applaud the Union County Commissioners voting yes on the ITA resolution, but the work is not over,” said Hera Mir, Policy Associate with AAPI New Jersey. “Our communities are living in fear after witnessing family and community members being brutally separated and disappeared without due process. From going to school, the hospital or reporting a crime, our community deserves to seek critical services. This act would ensure that all New Jerseyans can safely access local resources when they need it the most, without fear. We call on Senator Scutari and Speaker Coughlin to do the right thing by advancing the Immigrant Trust Act and keep New Jersey strong.”
“We are grateful that Union County Commissioners have twice shown their opposition to ICE and their willingness to stand up for our fellow residents,” said Cynthia Galeota, Co-chair of the Immigration Committee for SOMA Action, a local grassroots volunteer organization in Essex County. “First, by not letting an unused jail be converted into a detention center and second, by passing an Immigrant Trust Act resolution. The Commissioners listened to their constituents who testified to the lawless onslaught against immigrants in New Jersey and the need to provide the fullest possible protections for all. District 22 has made its collective voice firm in standing for peaceful and safe communities in our state. Take heed, Senate President Scutari!”
With the passage of the resolution, Union County became the third county and joined 19 municipalities showing similar support for the Immigrant Trust Act (ITA). Introduced last year, the ITA (S-3672 / A-4987) would allow all New Jersey residents, regardless of immigration status, to seek help and get essential services from New Jersey agencies, without fear of ICE arrest. This includes limitations on information sharing and privacy protections at public schools, libraries, health care facilities, with law enforcement, and in the criminal legal system which disproportionately harms Black and Brown residents.
