Immigrant Policy Panel Public Hearing Draws 100, 3/13/08
Governor’s Advisory Panel on Immigrant Policy Public Hearing in Bridgeton Attracts Diverse Opinions BRIDGETON, NJ– More than 100 people attended Tuesday’s (March 11) second public hearing on immigrant integration held by the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel on Immigrant Policy in Bridgeton, NJ. The event, held inside the Bridgeton High School auditorium, attracted numerous residents from southern New Jersey farming communities including employers, farm workers and labor advocacy groups. Many expressed their concern for safety, workforce protection, and access to health care and other services. “We know that we must solicit the input and thoughts of the public, because your experience and insights will help guide our work,” Panel chairman Ronald K. Chen said, in his opening remarks. Chen also stressed that the purpose of the Panel is to examine best practices for integrating immigrants into the New Jersey community - not determine federal immigration policy. “Immigration policy, a policy by which people are lawfully admitted to enter the United States and the conditions upon which they can remain, is exclusively a federal matter. For better or worse, that is clearly the case and has been so for many years,” the Public Advocate said. Several witnesses spoke of concerns about ethnic profiling, and said they have been a target of raids as well as arrests and questioning from law enforcement without cause. The issue in-state college tuition for children of undocumented residents was also a reoccurring topic. Currently, graduates of New Jersey high schools must pay out-of-state tuition to attend state colleges or universities if they cannot prove legal residency. “This is a very important issue we are examining as part of the panel’s work. If students don’t have access to higher education, it limits their options to attaining a better future, and that is not good for the future of New Jersey,” Chen said. Some attendees came from a different viewpoint, and several people recommended increased enforcement of immigration laws as well as the elimination of access to benefits and services for undocumented residents. Of the roughly 121 attendees, 52 witnesses testified before the Panel. Members of the Panel heard from the Latino, Haitian and South Asian communities as well as from young first generation immigrant professionals and students, educators, advocates, and concerned citizens. The Immigrant Policy Panel was created in August 2007 by an executive order from Governor Corzine with the mission of developing recommendations for a comprehensive and strategic statewide approach to successfully integrate the rapidly growing immigrant population in New Jersey. At the end of next year, the Panel will address their findings and recommendations to the Governor in a final report.
The public is invited to submit written comments to the Immigrant Policy Panel. Testimony can be sent to immigrantpolicypanel@advocate.state.nj.us; faxed to (609) 984-4747 or mailed to: Department of the Public Advocate Attn. Clarisa Romero-Cruz P.O. Box 851 Trenton, NJ 08625-0851
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