Thread: NJ: State immigration panel opens hearings

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

By ELIZABETH LLORENTE
STAFF WRITER



NEW BRUNSWICK -- Proponents of easing restrictions on illegal immigrants urged a governor's panel on Monday to support policies allowing the children of undocumented immigrants better access to health care and education, especially lower in-state college tuition rates.


But at the first of several public hearings on immigration to be held around the state, those who favor a strict approach to illegal immigrants argued against programs that would benefit the undocumented and their children. They said such services and programs would be tantamount to rewarding law-breakers.

In a standing-room-only crowd at the Rutgers University's Labor Education Center auditorium, Assemblyman Upendra J. Chivukula of Somerset urged the panel not to view the issue "as illegal immigration; you look at it as educating a child."

Chivukula is a sponsor of legislation to allow students of illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates at state college.

"They're here to stay," he told the panel, headed by state Public Advocate Ron Chen."

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The panel, made up of about two dozen people – including immigration advocates, legislative aides and representatives from state government agencies – will look at immigrant access to such things as health care, education, job training, social services and English classes. At the end of about 18 months of holding hearings around the state, the panel is expected to issue a report and recommendations.

Source: Corzine administration

Cid Wilson of Leonia, a trustee of Bergen Community College, said: "Every year, Bergen Community College like many other colleges, faces the challenge of providing opportunities of higher education for our undocumented community. These students find out the hard way that despite good grades in school and a promising academic future, the doors to higher education are closed shut because they are undocumented and thus have to pay out-of-state tuition."

He said it was unfair that out-of-state students were more able to eventually be charged in-state rates, unlike undocumented students who have lived in New Jersey practically all their lives.

But the advocates got little sympathy from groups that are pushing for stronger enforcement of immigration laws. They told the panel the state's soaring illegal immigrant population is a drain on schools, hospitals and the economy.

Gayle Kesselman of Carlstadt, who is co-chairwoman of New Jersey Citizens for Immigration Control, said other states that have cracked down on illegal immigrants have seen them leave.

She firmly opposed giving tuition breaks to undocumented students, saying that they "would not be here if their parents had not come in here illegally. ... More states are disappointed by the failure of our government to control our borders; many states are taking matters into their own hands."

Carmen Morales, a member of You Don't Speak for Me, an organization of Hispanics who want strict enforcement of immigration laws, assailed those "who break our laws and do as they wish without regard to their fellow American citizens."

"Our country is not just about making money," she said. "We need to bring back the rule of law."

Governor Corzine created the panel in August to advise him about how the state could integrate its immigrant population, including the undocumented. The panel will continue to take testimony at future hearings. Among the most controversial objectives the Corzine administration established for the panel is helping the state's estimated 500,000 illegal immigrants become prepared for legalization.

Corzine officials said that states need to develop a plan for bringing the undocumented into the fold -- through English classes and information about access to various services -- because Congress had failed to pass an immigration-reform package.

Daniel Santo Pietro, head of the Hispanic Directors Association of New Jersey, ended his testimony on an upbeat note.

"Let's work together on this," he said. "Hopefully, we can arrive at the sanest and best policies we possibly can."

E-mail: llorente@northjersey.com


http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qst ... VFRXl5Mg==

Just sent another email to this Corzine. I told him illegals don't vote (of course in NJ who knows) In any event citizens vote and we want him to stop pandering to illegals was the jist of my email.

I'm sending one too Cliffdid.

New Jersey needs a new Govenor!