NJ Advocates Demand COVID Aid For Immigrants, Find Ally In Church

NEWARK, NJ — A movement demanding coronavirus relief for undocumented immigrants in New Jersey has gained a new friend: the archbishop of Newark.

On Wednesday, advocacy group Make the Road New Jersey announced that Cardinal Joseph Tobin of the Newark Archdiocese has thrown his support behind a bill in the state Legislature, A4171/S2480.

If passed, the legislation would provide one-time payments to hundreds of thousands of immigrants in New Jersey to help them recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. It would appropriate $35 million to get the job done.

The payments would be $1,000 for an eligible taxpayer whose most recent gross income tax return included at least one dependent child, $700 for an eligible taxpayer whose most recent gross income tax return did not include a dependent child and was filed with a status of married filing jointly, and $500 for other eligible taxpayers.

Read the bill’s full text here.

According to Tobin, the Garden State has a duty to look after its undocumented immigrants, many of whom work as frontline employees.

“In these days of the pandemic, we have been using the word ‘essential’ more and more,” Tobin said. “Unfortunately, we rely on essential workers, but we fall short when it is necessary and appropriate to protect and compensate them adequately.”

“We urge the passage of this bill to extend COVID-19 funding to the estimated half-million undocumented immigrants and their families who are excluded from most safety net programs,” Tobin added.

Tobin oversees an archdiocese that serves an estimated 1.5 million Catholic residents of Essex, Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Union counties. He’s also advocated for other immigrant rights issues, such as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

• See related article: New Jersey Archbishop Decries DACA Decision, Supports Immigrants

UNDOCUMENTED DOESN’T MEAN UNTAXED

Many advocates say that the one-time payments would be a drop in the bucket compared to what the Garden State’s undocumented immigrants contribute in taxes.

At 7.6 percent, New Jersey has the fourth-highest share of undocumented workers as a percent of its labor force in the nation, the bill’s sponsors say.

According to the bill’s sponsors in the state Assembly and Senate:

• “New Jerseyans who are undocumented workers pay $1.1 billion in federal taxes and $600 million in state and local taxes”
• “Many undocumented immigrants pay into unemployment insurance, social security, payroll taxes but are ineligible for any public benefits, unemployment insurance or federal assistance”
• “Some use an Internal Revenue Service-issued Individual Taxpayer Identification number (ITIN) to file and pay federal and state taxes”
• “Despite their contributions, ITIN holders and their families, which include United States citizens, were intentionally excluded from federal relief assistance provided in response to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and do not qualify for unemployment insurance despite contributing to it”

“New Jersey's undocumented immigrants contribute over half a billion dollars in state and local taxes annually,” said the Rev. Bolivar Flores, vice president of the NJ Coalition of Latino Pastors and Ministers.

“Passing this legislation would grant our immigrant taxpayers the same social services they pay into,” Flores said.

The Rev. Steffie Bartley of the National Action Network also supported the bill. Bartley called on state lawmakers and Gov. Phil Murphy to take action immediately.

“The suffering is clear, and hundreds of thousands of immigrants will be aided in this state if we pass this critical measure,” Bartley said.

Dozens of social justice organizations in New Jersey have signed on to the “Recovery For All” campaign, which is pushing for A4171/S2480.

Endorsing groups include 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East , 32BJ SEIU, Action Together New Jersey, Advocates for Children of New Jersey, African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey, African Diaspora for Justice, American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, American Friends Service Committee, Anti-Poverty Network of New Jersey, Bangladeshi American Women's Development Initiative, BlueWaveNJ, Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers, Casa de Esperanza, Casa Freehold, CATA - The Farmworker Support Committee, Central Jersey Coalition Against Endless War, Council for Faith in Action, Unitarian Universalist Church of Washington Crossing, Faith In New Jersey, First Friends of NJ & NY, Food & Water Action, Greater Red Bank Women’s Initiative, Hudson County Central Labor Council, IFPTE Local 194, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), Latino American Democratic Association (LADA), Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Latino Action Network, Laundry Workers Center, Laura Cohen (distinguished clinical professor of law at Rutgers Law School), LUPEPAC, LUPE Foundation, Make the Road New Jersey, National Action Network, National Day Laborer Organizing Network, National Domestic Workers Alliance, Neighborhood Assistance Office, New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, New Jersey Citizen Action, New Jersey Coalition of Latino Pastors and Ministers, New Jersey Consortium for Immigrant Children, New Jersey Education Association, New Jersey Policy Perspective, New Jersey Working Families, New Labor, NJ Coalition to End Domestic Violence, Our Revolution Essex County, Our Revolution Monmouth, Our Revolution New Jersey, Our Revolution Ocean County, People Demanding Action, NJ, Robbinsville Democratic Club, RWDSU Local 108, RWDSU Local 262, Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey, UndocuRutgers, Unidad Latina en Acción, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Monmouth County, Unitarian Universalist Faith Action, Victoria Foundation, Wind of the Spirit Immigrant Resource Center.

• See related article: NJ Immigrants Own 47 Percent Of 'Main Street' Businesses: Study
• See related article: NJ's Richest Not Paying Fair Share For COVID Recovery, Groups Say

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