Thread: NJ: Sanctuary sought in Bridgeton

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbc ... /704090310

Sanctuary sought in Bridgeton
By MILES JACKSON
Staff Writer
mjackson@thedailyjournal.com

BRIDGETON -- They have jobs, work hard, pay taxes and ask for little in return.

The three men all are residents of Mexican descent living in the United States illegally and are board members of the Committee for Agricultural Worker Assistance, which his known by the acronym CATA.

But it's not assistance they seek, not government handouts or special programs to provide monetary or material assistance.

All they want, they say, is to be left alone, free from the harassment of police and immigration authorities.

And they want to make it official.

CATA members are asking the municipal government in Bridgeton to declare the city a "sanctuary" where public funds couldn't be used to enforce federal immigration laws. There are a handful of sanctuary cities in the state, including Trenton and Newark.

They also want city officials to refuse assistance to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, an agency known to those in the immigrant community as ICE.

City officials say they realize the contribution of Bridgeton's Mexican community, but add that they've taken an oath to uphold the laws of the state and the nation.

"We just can't refuse to abide by federal laws," Mayor James Begley said.

But the CATA members, and others in the city's Mexican community, say it takes seven years or longer to obtain papers to work in the United States, and that papers are almost impossible to get while living anyplace but a major city in Mexico.

"It's important that we convince the people of Bridgeton that we are good people," said Fabian Martinez, a 21-year-old worker for a landscape company who is in the country illegally. "But ICE has come into the city, knocked down the doors to some of our homes and taken the men away."

By taking away those immigrants, ICE has disrupted the family unit, the basic building block of the Mexican community where family ties are strong and the absence of a father in a home is a severe hardship economically and culturally, immigration advocates say.

"All the raids do is separate families," said Claudio Lopez, a middle-aged man with the callused hands of someone who does manual labor who also is in the country illegally. "They are separated with no idea when they will be together again."

Jose Mendez, a 20-year-old landscape worker in the U.S. illegally, said he and the other men pay state and federal income taxes, as well as Social Security taxes.

"We'll never be able to collect the benefits from Social Security or many other programs paid for by those taxes," Mendez said. "And we can't get papers to work here even if we're doing a job nobody else wants."
'It's really hurtful'

Still, the three men said they suffer an outpouring of abuse from people who have created an atmosphere of hate for the Mexican immigrants who are harvesting crops, manicuring lawns and holding some of the nation's most difficult jobs.

Martinez said he was working along a road, putting in plants for a major landscaper, when a car of Anglo-Americans passed by, throwing bottles and insults at him and fellow Mexican workers.

"How do you think that makes us feel?" Martinez said. "It's really hurtful, especially when you have a radio station calling all Mexicans 'cockroaches' and 'trash.'"

"We're not asking for anything but respect," he added.

City officials said the Mexican community benefits Bridgeton's economy, but also note that they can't -- and won't -- ignore federal laws.

Burl Kimble, acting police chief in Bridgeton, said his officers don't ask about the immigration status of anyone.

"We enforce the local and state laws," Kimble said. "We don't go looking for violations of immigration law to enforce."

Kimble said his department has made an effort to reach out to the Mexican community after a city police officer was accused of assaulting and robbing an immigrant last year.

"A vast majority of the Mexican immigrants in our community are good hardworking people who just want to live in peace," Kimble said. "We don't look for immigration violations, but we can't turn a blind eye on all federal laws."

"But what would happen if we just kicked 11 million people out of this country?" Kimble added. "It would cause major economic upheaval. There has to be some way to let these people stay in this country legally."

But the CATA members, and others in the city's Mexican community, say it takes seven years or longer to obtain papers to work in the United States, and that papers are almost impossible to get while living anyplace but a major city in Mexico.

So What!
I would really like to live in a sanctuary where I could rob a bank and could go unpunished.

Those people are just out of touch with reality!

"But what would happen if we just kicked 11 million people out of this country?" Kimble added. "It would cause major economic upheaval. There has to be some way to let these people stay in this country legally."

No, the economy would adjust and recover.

Dixie

There are a handful of sanctuary cities in the state, including Trenton and Newark.

And have you ever seen the condition of these cities? You take you life in your hands just driving through Newark! And though I've never been to Trenton I've heard its not much better. Show me a sanctuary City and I'll show you a high crime area! Who do these criminals think they are?

All they want, they say, is to be left alone, free from the harassment of police and immigration authorities.

And I want the freedom to break which ever law I deem inconvenient to make my life easier too.

Originally Posted by Cliffdid

There are a handful of sanctuary cities in the state, including Trenton and Newark.

And have you ever seen the condition of these cities? You take you life in your hands just driving through Newark! And though I've never been to Trenton I've heard its not much better. Show me a sanctuary City and I'll show you a high crime area! Who do these criminals think they are?

I've been to Trenton a number of times. If you go a block in from the capital you're in inner city ghetto.

I saw a huge apartment rental sign in spanish only.

Newark and Trenton are abbott districts in NJ. You could probably say the illegal alien populations compounds the fiscal nightmare of school funding and the highest property taxes in the US. Although, we have a 3% increase this year in school funding, their has been a freeze for 5 years! The 31 abbott districts get more funding and no results!




Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Empty Classrooms In New Jersey

It would be interesting to know how many illegal aliens attend New Jersey’s public schools and how much it costs the state’s income and property tax payers. An article in today’s Star-Ledger - Crowded protests help empty some classrooms in Jersey - gives us some idea:

[size=18]According to the state, about 60,000 students do not speak English as their primary language.In Paterson public schools, about a quarter of the students took the day off in light of the national demonstrations.

Perth Amboy's usual attendance rate was down by a third.

New Brunswick's was down by even more, with the high school reporting only about half the usual attendance.

"In Passaic, a preschool that normally serves more than 300 students had just 100 students yesterday. That left classrooms nearly empty and gave school officials time to complete the school's outdoor butterfly garden. "

"We decided to use the day to finish up the project," said Maria Kenney, principal of School 17. "It ended up the perfect day for it."

Update: Assemblyman Michael has Boycott Lessons:



One of the other people interviewed for the radio news was a Pooh Bah from a New Jersey urban school district. Asked how this strike would affect his schools, he reported on one school which boasts an enrollment of 350, of which 310 failed to show up this morning.

The district at issue being an Abbott district, it spends -- depending upon how one does the math -- between $20,000 and $30,000 per year per kid educating the children of illegal aliens.

it’s a fair bet that a goodly number of the kids, upon whom we, the taxpayers, are spending uncounted billions, should not even be here.

THIS, then, is the nature of our constitutional obligation to provide a "thorough and efficient" education?

Illegals in NJ urban zones cost the taxpayers a bloody fortune. Even a hard working, otherwise law abiding [illegal alien] couple with three kids sets the taxpayers back a cool $75K or so, just in educational costs. That’s one hell of a price to pay for a cheap short order cook.

My thought, then, is that we should strongly encourage all illegals to boycott public schools. Permanently. The savings would provide our taxpayers with billions in sorely needed property tax relief. [/size]
http://enlightennj.blogspot.com/2006/05 ... ersey.html
Wednesday, April 12, 2006


A Legitimate Issue Regarding Abbott

The largest recipients of Abbott district school aid include Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, Elizabeth, Camden, Trenton, East Orange, Passaic, Union City, and Irvington.

Meanwhile, the NJ Department of Health and Senior Services reports the following birth statistics for 2003 (the latest available data; see pages 16-31):

Percent of Mothers Who Were Unmarried
=============================

Newark (68%)
Jersey City (43%)
Paterson (61%)
Elizabeth (53%)
Camden (80%)
Trenton (72%)
East Orange (68%)
Passaic (55%)
Union City (51%)
Irvington (63%)
Now it seems pretty obvious that the absence of a father or an unstable family life could affect a child's performance in school. As a parent and a taxpayer, I am willing to provide finite, targeted assistance to address this situation.

However, Abbott spending has become an unlimited, general subsidy for irresponsible behavior (and a bonanza for too many indirect beneficiaries). School is not a substitute for stable families or positive role models, and limitless school aid won't change this fact (no matter how many liberal judges wish upon a star).

Why should the rest of the state go bankrupt from Abbott spending when these communities are never held accountable for this conduct? Aren't we entitled to some glimmer of responsibility before we supply financial assistance?




http://njfiscalfolly.blogspot.com/


http://www.newfoundations.com/ETHICPROP ... 18F04.html