Thread: N.J.: Asselta, Donohue talk tough on illegals

Asselta, Donohue talk tough on illegals

By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712
(Published: August 15, 2007)

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE - Republicans in the 1st Legislative District called for immigration reforms Tuesday after the execution-style shootings that killed three college students earlier this month in Newark.

Sen. Nicholas Asselta, R-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, and his Republican running mate, Assembly candidate Michael Donohue, said the Aug. 4 shootings - allegedly by a gang that included an undocumented Peruvian - illustrate the pressing need to stiffen immigration enforcement.

They propose that New Jersey require companies to pledge in writing that they employ only documented workers before accepting their bids and penalize those that do otherwise by making them ineligible to bid on future state contracts.

County prosecutors should check the immigration status of every suspect taken into police custody, the Republicans said. Likewise, the federal government should pay the public costs of defending illegal immigrants accused of crimes in New Jersey, they said.

Asselta and Donohue also said public benefits should be granted only to documented workers who can prove legal residence or citizenship. And they said English should be declared America's national language.

The Newark shootings were shocking even for one of New Jersey's most crime-plagued cities. One victim survived after being shot in the head.

The Peruvian suspect, Jose Carranza, was free on bail at the time of the shooting, awaiting trial on charges of assault and child rape.

"We can't wait for the federal government to take the lead on this thing. We see they're paralyzed," Asselta said.

Gov. Jon S. Corzine this month named 27 people to a panel to investigate immigration issues such as citizenship status, work force training, language proficiency and employment. Asselta said lawmakers should not wait for this panel's recommendations to take action.

Illegal immigration likely would have been a campaign issue even before the Newark shootings attracted national attention.

Undocumented aliens cost New Jersey taxpayers more than $750 million per year by conservative estimates. Educating the children of illegal immigrants costs taxpayers an estimated $450 million.

About 12 percent of illegal-immigrant households receive food stamps, according to the Center for Immigration Studies. By that tally, New Jersey pays about $50 million per year to feed the state's undocumented residents.

Donohue, a municipal prosecutor, said he sees the burden firsthand in Cape May County.

"We pay for their welfare and schooling and health care. We pay public defenders to defend illegal immigrants. We shouldn't be doing that," Donohue said.

Foreign workers drive southern New Jersey's economy, particularly in resorts such as Ocean City and Wildwood, where amusement parks scour the globe in search of summer help.

Donohue said employers that abide by the rigorous foreign-worker laws are at a competitive disadvantage to those who hire on the sly.

Asselta's Democratic opponent, Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew, said Republicans were grasping at issues they know will stir voters. Van Drew said lax enforcement of immigration rules is a federal shortcoming, not a state failure.

"They're full of beans. This is painfully, politically transparent. They jump from hot-button issue to hot-button issue," he said.

Van Drew said he sponsored a bill, now law, that closes a loophole in the building trades. General contractors can't simply declare without proof that all workers at a job site are independent contractors beyond their control. This makes contractors more accountable for Social Security and tax withholdings.

Van Drew and his running mate, Assemblyman Nelson Albano, said they sponsored a bill, now awaiting the governor's signature, that would crack down on unlicensed drivers who drive vehicles registered in other states. Van Drew said this bill was initiated by towns such as Bridgeton that complained about a large number of out-of-state vehicles operated by unlicensed or illegal immigrants.

Van Drew said Asselta was being disingenuous with his latest calls to action over illegal immigration.

"What did you do this year? What did you do last year? What about the past decade?" Van Drew asked.

Meanwhile, the director of the New Jersey Immigration Policy Network said reforms should be undertaken deliberately, not in response to a single violent crime or election-year politics.

"It's a horrific crime that needs to be investigated and prosecuted to the full extent of the law," said Shai Goldstein, a former assistant prosecutor in Atlantic County. "Xenophobia is not a path to an enlightened democracy."

His nonprofit group, founded in 1984, advocates for immigrants and is represented on the governor's immigration panel.

Goldstein said local police have enough to handle without being saddled with federal responsibilities such as immigration enforcement.

"There is a minimum amount the state government can do. We support cooperation between local and federal law enforcement. But we're opposed to deputizing local law enforcement," Goldstein said. "The state resources as everyone knows are stretched very thin. It will detract from their ability to go about the day-to-day enforcement they're entrusted with."

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news ... 2579c.html

Thanks for the post/link. I just emailed Sen. Nicholas Asselta thanking him for his tough stance on these issues. There may be some hope for this state yet...