Category Archives: migrant defense

Stirring the POT (5)

Posted on by under activism, anarchism, book review, cancel culture, liberty and the left, migrant defense, moralism, Neutrality and Complicity, Notes on the Anti-War Movement, Palestine, political philosophy, slices of life

Politics and the Problematics of Fun

I started my “Stirring the POT” series earlier this year as a vehicle for announcements, but it gradually morphed into a series of ruminations on conferences I attended. The latter turned out to be the more interesting enterprise, so I’ll close out the year with a belated conference rumination. This past April, I went to San Francisco, at the invitation of Roderick Long and the Molinari Society, to be on an Author-Meets-Critics panel on Gary Chartier’s Christianity and the Nation State. It promised to be a good time, and it was. Continue reading →

The Immigrant Trust Tour: West Orange Yet Again

Posted on by under activism, migrant defense

I’ve been pleased to see that my blog posts here have generated a bit of press coverage in favor of an Immigrant Trust Act (ITA) resolution in West Orange. This piece, in the November 20 issue of TapInto West Orange, covered my initial statement to West Orange Town Council. This one, in the December 23 issue of The West Orange Dispatch, essentially brings things up to date. Continue reading →

The Immigrant Trust Tour: Middlesex County Again

Posted on by under activism, migrant defense

Second Statement to the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners
75 Bayard St
New Brunswick, New Jersey
December 18, 2025

My name is Irfan Khawaja. I live in Princeton and work in Iselin. I’m here to advocate for the county’s passing a resolution in favor of the Immigrant Trust Act (ITA). Last time I was here, I recounted a story of an unfortunate event in Edison back in 2024 in which the mayor of that town abused a bunch of migrants with impunity. The point of the story was to suggest that had the ITA been in place, the abuse wouldn’t have happened.  Continue reading →

Rome If You Want To

Posted on by under Fatwas, migrant defense, Palestine

Here’s a parlor game anyone can play. Familiarize yourself with the controversy about the “ICE manger” at St Susanna’s Church in Dedham, Massachusetts. Then get into an argument about it with any specifically Christian critic of the parish and/or apologist for ICE. Then count how many minutes it takes before they sacrifice both Baby Jesus and the Holy Family to Herod, Caesar, and the Roman Empire. In my experience, it takes about two.

Continue reading →

The Immigrant Trust Tour: Three Wins

Posted on by under activism, migrant defense

A quick update from the Immigrant Trust Tour: we’ve just had three Immigrant Trust Act (ITA) resolutions passed here in New Jersey in the last few weeks. The first was at the Somerset County Board of County Commissioners in Somerville (Nov. 12, unanimous), the second, at the Mercer County Board of County Commissioners in Trenton (Nov. 24, unanimous), and the third passed tonight at Clifton City Council (Dec. 2, 4-3). Mercer County was friendly and receptive, but Clifton was a tough battle–contentious and occasionally hostile. I wasn’t privy to goings-on at Somerset. In any case, three wins. Continue reading →

If You Want Blood

Posted on by under Fatwas, Memorials and Obituaries, migrant defense, Notes on the Anti-War Movement, Palestine

Do yourself a favor. Go back and re-read the Declaration of Independence, but do it this way: skip the beginning and the end, and read the bill of particulars in the middle. It’s too long to quote here. You really just have to read it for yourself. Once you do, you’ll see that details aside, we’re living in the very world that the Declaration describes, excoriates, and uses as the basis of its declaration of war. Virtually everything in it is something that our present government is doing to us. Like the people of British North America ca. 1776, we are a people under military occupation. Continue reading →

The Immigrant Trust Tour: Tensions in Clifton

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

Readers of this blog may remember my earlier posts on the campaign for an Immigrant Trust Act (ITA) resolution in Clifton, New Jersey (Nov 5 and Nov 18). As mentioned in the latter post, I attended the November 5 meeting, but had to miss the November 12 one due to a scheduling issue. This is a guest post by my friend Jeff Hoey of Clifton, describing the November 12 meeting. Here is a link to the (tendentious, editorializing) Clifton Times piece Jeff mentions. Continue reading →

An Immigrant Trust Resolution for West Orange

Posted on by under activism, migrant defense

Model Resolution Being Sought for West Orange
I was pleased to hear from Mayor Susan McCartney that West Orange is seeking a model ITA resolution to present to the West Orange Council for a vote.

Right now, only one member of the Council, Joyce Rudin, has explicitly expressed support for a resolution. My hope is to get some West Orange residents to join me in making the case to the Council, whether in person or by email. Please contact me by email if interested: khawajaenator at gmail. Or feel free to take the initiative on your own.

Continue reading →

The Immigrant Trust Tour: Clifton Redux

Posted on by under activism, cancel culture, migrant defense, Palestine

Chris D’Amato, Migrant Rights, and the Exploitation of Anti-Semitism
I mentioned the campaign for an Immigrant Trust Resolution in Clifton a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, I had a scheduling conflict and had to miss the follow-up meeting yesterday. Below the fold is a depressing report from my friend Jeff Hoey, a Clifton resident who’s been leading the campaign. It’s a perfect example of the cynicism that masquerades as philo-Semitism nowadays–and also the right-wing virtue-signaling that passes itself off as “anti-woke.” I encountered a similar phenomenon when I spoke last week in West Orange, which I’ll describe here in the near future. It’s obviously a trend. Continue reading →

Yes, West Orange, This Is Your Business

Posted on by under activism, migrant defense

I was pleased to see that my statement on the Immigrant Trust Act to the West Orange Town Council got headline treatment in TapInto West Orange. The reporter summarizes my statement, and then quotes Council member Joyce Rudin as favoring passage of a pro-ITA resolution:

[Regarding] the Immigrant Trust Act, I frankly, don’t know why we don’t pass a resolution. It’s been done all over the country. I don’t see how it would hurt us to offer protection, to make a statement as a community, in terms of providing protection to our immigrant community.

I’m gratified to hear that, and hope that Rudin can prevail on others, including incoming Council member Tammy Williams, to pass a resolution. Continue reading →