Here’s the version of the statement I gave at West Orange Town Council tonight. I posted a different version here a few days ago, but found that I had to pare it down to make it fit the five minute time limit. Though the Council responded to public comments, they made no attempt to respond to mine. (Correction: I must have left too early to hear it, but Council member Joyce Rudin responded positively to my statement.)

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Hi, my name is Irfan Khawaja. I’m here to speak in support of your passing a resolution in favor of the Immigrant Trust Act. I know that West Orange has previously discussed and rejected a resolution, but I don’t find your reasons convincing. 

Let me address this issue in a roundabout way. I work in hospital revenue cycle management, a fancy way of saying that I collect medical bills. Think about how medical bills work. You go to the hospital, and have a procedure. Eventually, the bill drops. If you’re insured, the bill goes out to insurance. Insurance either pays or denies. If it denies, the bill goes through an appeals process which often takes years to resolve. At the end of it, the bill reaches final disposition. Lots can go wrong along the way. 

I see these processes every day. And what is it that I see? I see a lot of illegality. Providers upcode. Payers deny and downgrade. Patients evade payment. Much of this is either fraud or breach of contract. I see thousands of these cases, but there aren’t just thousands in the system. There are millions. An unkind person might say that the health care system is a sanctuary for illegals.

Here’s what I don’t see. I don’t see armed, masked men breaking into the offices of Aetna, Cigna, Humana, or UnitedHealth, dragging the executives or reps out, and hauling them off to Delaney Hall. I don’t see paramilitary units surrounding Hackensack Meridian or RWJ Barnabas or Valley, dragging out the C-Suite or the billing staff or the clinicians and hauling them off to Fort Dix. I don’t see unmarked cars driving down Main Street, hunting for individuals in arrears on their medical bills, and sending them to concentration camps in El Salvador. When it comes to health care, we tolerate lots and lots of cut corners.

Now look at our treatment of “illegal immigrants.” Everything I just described is actually happening in federal immigration enforcement, and happening by our collective choice. No cut corners here. If an insurance company breaches a payment contract, well, that’s just business. A migrant breaks a rule? ICE deploys armed action to destroy the whole family. 

This is not acceptable. A conscientious political leadership at any level–federal. state, or local–would express active opposition to it. 

Members of this Council have previously argued that while they support immigrants they “need to prioritize local issues.” I don’t find this credible. There is no such “need.” It’s a choice that contradicts much of what the council does.

Every council meeting begins with the Pledge of Allegiance. The Pledge of Allegiance is a pledge to the flag of the nation and the republic, not the township. It’s a reminder that the business of the township extends beyond the town.

The township has no difficulty requesting and receiving grants from entities beyond itself. So when it comes to taking, the business of the township extends beyond the town. What about giving? 

Sometimes it does give. On April 22, the Council passed a Resolution authorizing a grant from the Municipal Alliance (114-25). The problem described in the Resolution is described as one “in our society” and “throughout New Jersey.”  This is a grant of funds from beyond West Orange, involving an alliance of towns beyond West Orange, to solve a problem beyond West Orange. No one can say Res. 114-25 is only about West Orange. But no one objected that it wasn’t. 

I could go on, but the point should be clear: I’ve been to town councils up and down this state for ten months now, and have heard this “local priorities” mantra over and over. It’s not true anywhere. It’s just a universal excuse for evasion and inaction. 

There are no excuses left for excuses. It’s time to act. Please pass a resolution along with the 25 towns and three counties that already have. Rest assured that if you don’t, I’ll be back until you do, with a crowd of like minded people. Like Thomas Edison and his lightbulb, we’re persistent: We won’t stop until we see light.