Letter to the Editor of CommunityNews (West Windsor & Plainsboro)

Though I’m not a West Windsor resident, I read with interest your coverage of the upcoming election for mayor and town council, and in particular, the Q&A addressed to the candidates (“West Windsor voters to decide mayor, council contests,” Oct 2).

That said, it seems to me that one important question went unasked. The question is: would the mayor and council be willing to pass a municipal resolution in favor of the Immigrant Trust Act (ITA)? Such resolutions have been passed by some twenty municipalities in the state, including nearby Princeton, and by two counties, including Essex and Hudson.  How about West Windsor?

As many readers know, one of the controversies in West Windsor concerns the Bridge Point 8 warehouse proposal, which now appears to be going forward (“Appeal fails in West Windsor warehouse zoning fight,” Oct 2). Bridge Point 8 will be just one of many such facilities in the area, including some within West Windsor itself.

Lost in the controversy is a little-noticed fact. It’s common knowledge that the front-line staff in such warehouses consists of migrant workers, including undocumented ones. It’s also common knowledge that these migrants are on the receiving end of a systematic set of assaults by federal law enforcement agencies, including ICE, HSI and CBP. And it’s common knowledge that these law enforcement operations have taken on an increasingly brutal and lawless character. The ITA would codify and extend the protections of the Immigrant Trust Directive to protect such workers. The push for local resolutions is an attempt to press the state legislature to pass the ITA before it’s too late.

In speaking before town councils across the area, I often hear the objection that state-level legislation like the ITA is beyond the purview of a municipal body. Local councils, we’re told, would prefer to focus exclusively on local matters instead of broader issues like the ITA. It’s remarkable that such claims are never made when these same municipalities seek grants from the county or the state. When grants are at issue, municipalities unapologetically take state and county funds for local purposes, insisting that it’s their right to do so. West Windsor is no exception: it relies heavily on NJDOT, Green Acres, and ARPA funding, in the absence of which its economy and quality of life would be greatly diminished.

But all this taking is a two-way street. If West Windsor can take so lavishly from the county and state, it owes the people of the county and state some minimal reciprocity in return. A pro-ITA resolution fits the bill: it expresses support for the migrants who live or work here without imposing a binding legal obligation on the town. I hope the newly-elected or re-elected administration will give it serious thought.