Category Archives: princeton

Princeton Is an ICE-Free Zone

Posted on by under activism, migrant defense, princeton

I’d intended to read a statement at Princeton Municipal Council tonight, underscoring the urgency of the need for an ICE-Free Zone in Princeton, but it turned out to be unnecessary. (An ICE-Free Zone is one which restricts the federal government’s use of municipal property for purposes of immigration enforcement when ICE lacks a judicial warrant; it’s not literally a zone that ICE can never enter.) Around 9 am, I got a voicemail from Councilwoman Mia Sacks telling me that a resolution was on the agenda, and up for vote. Resolution R-26-299 passed unanimously around 9 pm tonight. I’m grateful to the Mayor and Council for their efforts.

Rev Erich Kussman of St Bartholomew’s Lutheran Church, Trenton, leading the Peoples’ Prayer Vigil at Delaney Hall, Newark, June 2026

Why We’re Surrounded by Assholes

Posted on by under activism, princeton, Princeton University, West Orange, Electoral Ethics and Politics

What Dale Caldwell Has in Common with Justin Goldsman and Mikie Sherrill
West Orange Patch has a headline this morning, “Around West Orange: Political Scandal.” The headline suggests that a scandal has taken place in West Orange. Has it? No, the scandal Patch has in mind is the recent resignation from office of New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Dale Caldwell. Caldwell lives and works in New Brunswick. He answered to Governor Mikie Sherrill, who lives in Princeton and works in Trenton. It’s not clear exactly where the malfeasances alleged against him took place, but it’s clear that none took place in West Orange.

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ICE-Free Zone for Princeton (2)

Posted on by under activism, migrant defense, princeton

Statement to Princeton Municipal Council
400 Witherspoon St
September 28, 2026, 7 pm

As I know you’re aware, over the summer I made the case to the Mayor and Council for an ICE-Free Zone for Princeton, meaning a resolution or ordinance restricting the use of township property by federal immigration authorities. I appreciate the receptivity of the Mayor and Council to that proposal, and the work they’ve already put into it. But I wanted to highlight the urgency of the issue. 

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The “Trailer Parks” of Princeton

Posted on by under princeton

Adventures in Classist Self-Pity
Stephen Schreiber is the Vice Chair of the Zoning Board of Adjustment in Princeton, New Jersey. A zoning board of adjustment is a local government body that interprets and applies zoning laws, granting variances to existing law, and making special exceptions in certain cases. Schreiber has a remarkable letter in the September 16 issue of Town Topics, ostensibly on what he regards as the issue of over-development in town, but with the larger aim of proving that Princeton is a special place that ought to be regarded as immune to the imperatives of economic growth, development, and by implication, affordable housing.

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The Neo-Nazis and the Permit Raj

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

Princeton Patch has now confirmed that a white supremacist rally did in fact take place in Princeton this past Saturday afternoon, August 29th. Don’t miss the neo-Nazi video embedded in the article, “Youth in Revolt.” Apparently, the spirit of Leni Riefenstahl never quite died.

Unfortunately, the rally is (like so many things) increasingly being seen as a law enforcement matter, and the police, fixated by definition on matters of law enforcement, are now pursuing the thought that the people participating in the rally lacked a permit to march down the street or through Monument Park, and should have had one. Law enforcement’s idea of a solution to the rise of neo-Nazism in Princeton is to set up a Permit Raj: demand that activists get permits to exercise the privilege of assembling, marching, chanting, or holding signs. And make sure to demote those activities to the status of privileges in the process.

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Circling Back to Roundabouts

Posted on by under activism, Fatwas, princeton, slices of life

I’m grateful for the many off-line responses to my roundabouts post, particularly those from decision-makers at Princeton Municipal Council. I thought I’d re-visit the issue to respond to some of what was said.

One set of comments suggested that I over-complicated a simple issue: roundabouts are safer than right-angle intersections, so that’s that. But it’s not that simple. “Safer” is equivocal as between safer at the intersection and safer all things considered, and it’s not clear that roundabouts are safer all things considered.

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Roundabouts

Posted on by under activism, princeton

One of the topics discussed at the Princeton Town Council this past Monday was roundabouts. The Council wants to install one at the corner of Terhune and Harrison, I believe it was. I don’t like roundabouts, and hope they don’t build this one, but I have to admit that the issue is more complicated and more interesting than my personal preferences, so I thought I’d lay out the structure of the problem involved.

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Toward an ICE-Free Jersey

Posted on by under activism, Electoral Ethics and Politics, migrant defense, Neutrality and Complicity, princeton, West Orange

The Princeton-area League of Women Voters recently held a candidates’ forum for the four Democratic candidates for Municipal Council. They’d asked voters for questions to ask the candidates, and as it happens, my question was the first one asked (starts at minute 3 of the video):

Would you be amenable to passing an “ICE-Free Princeton” ordinance banning the use of municipality-owned property by federal immigration enforcement without a judicial warrant? 

All four said “yes,” at least pending legal review. So the idea has advocates in both of the places where I’ve advocated it, West Orange and now Princeton. Now all we have to do is write up some legislation and pass it. Something to put on the to-do list for the second half of the year.

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Calling All Palestine Activists

Posted on by under activism, General announcements, Neutrality and Complicity, Notes on the Anti-War Movement, Palestine, princeton, Princeton University, War with Iran

Converge on Princeton: Reunions, May 21-24
I’ve been making the case to pro-Palestine activists wherever I go: the experience of being shut down at LeMoyne, NYU, U of Texas at Dallas, and Rutgers (with the prospect of retaliation at Michigan) and elsewhere is certainly a dispiriting one, but the answer is not to keep demanding entry where entry has effectively been denied, but to find opportunities for visibility when and where they present themselves. Continue reading →