Category Archives: migrant defense

ICE Out of West Orange

Posted on by under activism, migrant defense

Linked to this post is the text of a letter I sent to the West Orange Town Council on February 12th. Aside from the letter’s face-value message, it illustrates two things: (1) how out of touch the Council is on relevant developments in the state legislature; (2) how ill-conceived is its belief that immigration enforcement is outside of the scope of municipal politics or Council jurisdiction. 

Even as West Orange residents have been abducted by ICE off the streets of West Orange and other nearby localities,* much of its Council seems hypnotized by Trumpian propaganda: it can’t act to protect residents, it tells us, because it owes a duty of unquestioning allegiance to the federal government; apparently, if the feds want something, the Township’s only duty is to close its eyes, gag its attorney, and hand over what’s demanded. Continue reading →

New Jersey’s Safe Communities Act

Posted on by under activism, migrant defense

A Letter to West Orange Town Council
February 12, 2026

I hadn’t intended to comment again on the Immigrant Trust Act, but I think the Council’s comment on it at the Feb 10 meeting requires emendation. I can’t attend the Feb 24 meeting, so I thought I’d write instead.

The person who spoke just before me during public comments (at about 31:40) asked about the status of a municipal resolution for the Immigrant Trust Act (ITA). The ITA no longer exists in its original form. During the lame duck session of the previous legislature, the ITA was divided into three bills. All three bills passed the legislature, but only one was signed by Governor Murphy; the other two bills were pocket-vetoed. The pocket-vetoed bills are presumptively dead.  Continue reading →

Regulating Speech at Princeton’s Kiosks

Posted on by under activism, cancel culture, migrant defense, moralism, Neutrality and Complicity, Notes on the Anti-War Movement, Palestine

This is the statement I gave tonight on the issue of the kiosks at Princeton Council:

I’m here to speak about the replacement of the kiosks on Nassau St with electronic versions. I should say that I was unconvinced by the Council’s arguments for replacing the kiosks, and remain unconvinced, but my comment tonight is more query than statement.

In the debate over the kiosks back in 2024, Councilwoman Sacks was quoted in The Princeton Patch as saying:  Continue reading →

Flat World Meets Flat Mind

Posted on by under migrant defense, Palestine

The word “Minneapolis” is a hybrid of Minnesota and Nablus (“Neapolis”). The Minnesota were an indigenous tribe wiped out by the West, itself inspired by Rome, and Nablus is a Roman city in the Middle Eastern colony the Romans starved, ethnically cleansed, conquered, settled, and ruled. The connection you’re looking for, Tom, is called “imperialism.” If you seek its monument, look around. But start by opening your eyes.

Welcome to the Occupation

Posted on by under migrant defense, MTSP Discussion: Fuller's Morality of Law, MTSP Discussion: H.L.A. Hart's Concept of Law, Palestine, pedagogy

A Facebook memory from September 2017. I neglected to mention that I got the title and general inspiration from Russell Means’s 1992 lecture, “Welcome to the Reservation.” Unfortunately, both messages have aged well. Here’s The Intercept piece that provided the occasion for the post.

Localize the Intifada

Posted on by under activism, migrant defense

The Use of Lethal Force in Self-Defense Against Federal Law Enforcement

I’m gratified to see that there’s been some explicit discussion in the last few weeks of a neglected topic that I mentioned in my post on Renee Good: do residents of the United States (citizens or otherwise) have a moral or legal right (however narrow, contextual, or limited) to use lethal force against federal law enforcement officers when those officers initiate force that endangers the life or limb of an innocent party? The answer is yes on both counts.  Just to be explicit: residents unquestionably have a right to kill federal law enforcement officers under certain conditions. The relevant question is not whether there is such a right, but the exact conditions under which it can legitimately be exercised.

Continue reading →

An Open Question for Middlesex County

Posted on by under activism, migrant defense, Neutrality and Complicity

Third Statement to Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners
75 Bayard St
New Brunswick, New Jersey
January 15, 2026

My name is Irfan Khawaja. I live in Princeton but work in Iselin. This is my third statement here on the matter of what was previously called the Immigrant Trust Act. As everyone knows, we’re in the home stretch toward passage of a version of the Act, but not there yet. To that end, I want to address some issues raised by the last meeting on that topic back on December 18. Continue reading →

Grand Slam in the Jersey Legislature

Posted on by under activism, General announcements, migrant defense, moralism, Palestine

All three bills of the Immigrant Protection Package (previously the Immigrant Trust Act) have passed both houses of the New Jersey State Legislature, and now await the signature of the governor, which it’s presumed he’ll give (here’s Politico, New Jersey Monitor). In addition, adoption of the so-called IHRA definition of anti-Semitism has been thwarted, meaning that the bill to codify the definition did not advance to a vote. Continue reading →

The Immigrant Trust Tour: The Finale

Posted on by under activism, migrant defense

Since I last wrote on the subject, New Jersey’s Immigrant Trust Act (ITA) has been divided into three separate bills, has gotten through a series of committee hearings, and is up for vote in the state legislature on Monday. It’s been sixteen solid months of efforts by a cohort of smart, tough, and dedicated activists. Win or lose, I’m proud to have played a bit part in this effort, and at this point can only urge New Jersey residents to call or text their legislators for the final push (see contact information below). Continue reading →

The Lessons of Renee Good

Posted on by under activism, cancel culture, migrant defense

Having spent time under the Israeli occupation, where killings of the sort we saw in Minneapolis are a commonplace, I have just a few simple observations to offer about the killing of Renee Good. The first is that we should re-assert the obvious: that all human beings have an inalienable right of self-defense, including lethal self-defense, against initiatory assaults on their person that threaten life or limb. This entails that every person in the United States, regardless of citizenship status, has the inalienable and indeed legal right to use lethal force against ICE agents who engage in initiatory assaults that threaten life or limb.

Continue reading →