New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidates vowed to help illegal immigrants avoid President Donald Trump’s ICE raids during the Garden State’s first primary debate of the year.
Five out of six candidates raised their hands when Joey Fox, New Jersey Globe political reporter and debate moderator, asked the Democrats on stage if they “believe that one of the goals of the next governor should be protecting immigrants in New Jersey, even those who are here illegally.”
Rep. Mikie Sherrill did not raise her hand, instead responding, “We should protect people in New Jersey, especially with the Constitution.”
NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR HOUSES MIGRANT AT HIS HOUSE, TELLS FEDS ‘GOOD LUCK’ TRYING TO GET HER
The question sparked less of a debate and more of a united front as candidates vowed to stand up to Trump, committed to comprehensive immigration reform, and vowed to prioritize humanity in the deportation process.
TRUMP SIGNS LAKEN RILEY ACT INTO LAW AS FIRST LEGISLATIVE VICTORY IN NEW ADMINISTRATION
However, candidates found shakier ground when discussing the Laken Riley Act, the first bill Trump signed into law during his second term that detains illegal immigrants who are accused of committing dangerous crimes.
“If you are a murderer, a criminal, a rapist, if you’re breaking into people’s homes in the middle of the night with a gun while the kids are sleeping, and you’re undocumented, you shouldn’t be here. You shouldn’t be in the state, you shouldn’t be in this country.” said Rep. Josh Gottheimer, who voted in support of the Laken Riley Act in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Despite Gottheimer’s support for the act, he was careful to distinguish “innocent undocumented people” from those who commit violent crimes. “When I’m governor, I’m going to use the full force of the state to stop” Trump from rounding up “innocent undocumented people” at restaurants, churches and schools, the congressman clarified.
The Trump administration doesn’t recognize such a distinction. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters last Tuesday that anyone in the United States illegally is considered a criminal.
“They illegally broke our nation’s laws, and, therefore, they are criminals, as far as this administration goes,” Leavitt said in a now viral moment. “I know the last administration didn’t see it that way, so it’s a big culture shift in our nation to view someone who breaks our immigration laws as a criminal. But that’s exactly what they are.”
Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop didn’t share Gottheimer’s support for the Laken Riley Act, calling it “dangerous.”
“The Laken Riley Act served to undermine the authority of the attorney general here in New Jersey,” Fulop said. “It is a very dangerous piece of legislation as it relates to autonomy of the governor and the attorney general here, and it should not have been supported.”
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, a vocal opponent of the ICE raids authorized in his city during Trump’s first week in office, took opposition to the bill a step further.
“You can’t say you support immigrants in New Jersey but vote for the Laken Riley Act,” Baraka said. “We need to stop having this conversation about people being murderers and killers and rapists and criminals. We know that’s a lie. There is no crime wave of immigrants in New Jersey.”
Baraka went as far as to say Trump’s political agenda is rooted in “White supremacy and racism.”
“It’s interesting that we keep saying that people are here illegally when we keep moving the goalpost,” Baraka said. “If we take away all of the pathways that people become documented citizens of the United States and then say they’re illegal, it’s a problem. We cannot risk the Fourth and 14th Amendment to push this political agenda that Donald Trump has really based in White supremacy and racism.”
“It is wrong to sit up here and have a debate about crime that immigrants create which we know is not true. The crime is making sure people don’t have access to the American dream because of what they look like, the country they came from, the language that they speak, and the zip code that they live in. We know that’s what’s happening, and we have to stop it now,” Baraka continued.
Former New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney said New Jersey should stand up to Trump’s deportations, emphasizing the lack of legal search warrants in these ICE raids. However, Sweeney agreed that someone with a criminal record who enters the United States or “someone that breaks the law in this country shouldn’t be in this country,” calling it a “privilege.”
“With Donald Trump, we all should stand and oppose what Donald Trump’s doing. He’s breaking the law. He’s doing it illegally. He’s doing it without legal search warrants. It’s horrible what he’s doing.” Sweeney said.
“I support what President Barack Obama and Sen. Joe Biden did. Both of those presidents happen to be Democrats who deported more people than Donald Trump ever did, but they did it with humanity and compassion and they did it the right way. We don’t want to round up people that haven’t done anything wrong, but people that broke the law in this country, I’m sorry they need to leave it… They’re breaking the laws, and we should hold them accountable,” Sweeney added.
New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller echoed Sweeney’s distaste for Trump’s inhumane deportations, telling New Jerseyans they should be scared.
“They’re coming for all of us, and that should scare every single one of us. That’s unacceptable. That’s what we stand up and fight back against,” Spiller said.
Despite taking a hard line against President Trump, the Democratic candidates recognized immigration reform as a necessity.
“I think that what’s missing in the conversation so many times is basic humanity,” Sherrill said. “We desperately need comprehensive immigration reform. We need to make sure people have a pathway to citizenship who are here, who are working hard, who are paying taxes, DACA recipients, TPS recipients. We also need better border security. We need to know what’s coming across our border.”
