Apropos of my last post, Montgomery Township has just issued an official proclamation in favor of the Immigrant Trust Act. A proclamation has a somewhat lower official status than a resolution; unlike a resolution, it’s issued collectively by the mayor and Council, and doesn’t require individualized votes by Council members. So it’s not exactly what we wanted, but it’s still a win. 

Whether coincidentally or not, two Council members who were present last time were absent today, notably Dennis Ahn and Vincent Barragan.

Onwards to West Windsor. I note with chagrin that the planned debate between the rival sets of candidates for West Windsor mayor and council was cancelled the day after I submitted a question on a pro-ITA resolution. Another coincidence?

This time, I’m really not sure. As it happens, the debate fell apart over matters of format, and West Windsor Together’s proposed format for the debate might very well have excluded my question:

The topics of the forum will focus exclusively on topics pertaining to West Windsor Township and a general list of topics will be provided to candidates as early as feasible.

It’s unclear what falls within and what’s excluded by the phrase “will focus exclusively on topics pertaining to West Windsor Township.” For whatever it’s worth, West Windsor Together’s platform focuses exclusively on intra-municipal matters without saying a word about the problem of immigration enforcement in Mercer County. The campaign proceeds as though ICE doesn’t exist, and as though its operations had no bearing on West Windsor. All that matters is business as usual: smart development, improved infrastructure, open spaces, upgraded facilities, low taxes, etc.

My question was explicitly framed as a regional rather than municipal question: would West Windsor pass a pro-ITA resolution that makes a contribution to justice beyond the confines of the town itself? It’s worth noting that there’s no way to achieve West Windsor Together’s stated aims without accepting funding from sources beyond West Windsor–county, state, and federal. And doing so inevitably requires it to get involved in regional, state, and federal politics. Every other bullet in their platform is about “seeking grant opportunities.” Where would those grants come from? Obviously not from West Windsor itself.

I would argue that if West Windsor’s pursuit of county, state, and federal funds is relevant to its internal politics (and it clearly is), then so are its obligations to the broader community. I would also insist that it has such obligations, among them the obligation to acknowledge the threat from ICE its residents face, and to do something about it. There’s more to municipal politics than grant opportunities and low taxes–or should be. There’s justice, the norm that regulates the pursuit of such things.

Unfortunately, that thought won’t find its way into the now-canceled debate, but it should find its way into the public comments at West Windsor’s next council meeting, Sept. 29th, 279 Clarksville Rd, at 7 pm. Granted, it won’t be addressed to West Windsor Together but to the current municipal administration. It doesn’t matter. One way or another, the thought has to find its way into the record, and into public consciousness. We no longer have the luxury of evasion.