Credit: (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki, File)Busing migrants from the southern border crossings to other parts of the United States, largely done by Republican governors, has become highly politicized over the last year — and now advocates are expressing outrage over one New Jersey mayor’s comments.
As of this morning, some 1,200 migrants have arrived in New Jersey by bus, circumventing New York City restrictions on those buses. One of the towns where migrants stopped was Edison, before continuing to make their way to New York via NJ Transit.
When asked about the brief stop in Edison, Mayor Sam Joshi said his town didn’t have the ability to help the migrants if they stayed, and that the federal government needed to step in. He went on to say: “Our position in Edison Township is that they’re not welcome here … They’re illegal, and they belong on the other side of the border … We don’t want them in Edison, period. That’s the bottom line,” Joshi, a Democrat, told News 12 earlier this week.
Advocates see ‘harm’
Social justice advocates called Joshi’s comments problematic, not sensitive to the population he serves and not productive. Referring to undocumented immigrants as “illegal” is offensive, they said and ignores the difficulties of immigrating to America. Advocates also pointed out that immigrants have the right to claim asylum, as some newly arrived people are doing. And such comments, they argue, fail to consider the generational impact of America’s racist immigration policies, policies that impacted many of the families of people living in New Jersey’s diverse communities including places like Edison.
“The harm that Mayor Joshi has committed with those comments is that racism and xenophobia impacts immigrants who are new and who are already here. And it makes all immigrants less safe,” said Nedia Morsy, director of strategic projects at Make the Road New Jersey.
“You’re communicating that those feelings are okay,” Morsy added.
Jeffrey Chang of AAPI New Jersey (formerly AAPI Montclair) said it’s important to recognize the “pernicious and discriminatory exclusion” of immigrants throughout America’s history, especially in the heavily Asian American community that Joshi represents.
“That’s very much has been part of our history. So that’s an important backdrop,” Chang said.
Recent census data shows that 45% of Edison Township are immigrants. There are also large East and South Asian communities, some of which have conservative views about immigration.
‘Positive response’ from constituents
Joshi posted a video Wednesday to clarify his comments, stressing that he is the son of immigrants and understands that migrants are fleeing dangerous situations, and that residents should have empathy for those “trying to find a better home.”
Credit: (Mayor Sam Joshi/Facebook)At the same time, he doubled down on his language that advocates have deemed offensive, referring to the migrants as “illegal.” He added that his parents came to America “legally” and that there is a “process” to entering this country.
In an interview with NJ Spotlight News, Joshi said his constituents supported what he said.
“I cannot tell you, the overwhelming positive response that I have gotten throughout my entire municipality. People that are immigrants support me on this issue. That is just a matter of fact, (an) overwhelming majority support this position,” Joshi said.
Many of the people Joshi represents once could have been subjected to racist immigration policies in America. Assemblywoman Sadaf Jaffer (D-Hunterdon), former mayor of Montgomery Township, said Joshi’s statement “stems from privileged and ignorance” about the immigration histories of South Asians and other groups.
“If you look at the history of immigration in this country, and especially the ways in which nonwhite people were kept out, I don’t think that you can create this dichotomy — this, like, wall between the people who come here ‘the right way’ and the people who are undocumented. And migration is a fact of life,” said Jaffer, who is also a lecturer in South Asian Studies at Princeton University.
‘Nothing new’
In this case, the migrants were processed at the southern border by officials, said Rev. Seth Kaper-Dale, who runs an immigration-services organization in New Jersey. Kaper-Dale spoke out against Joshi’s comments in an emailed statement.
“We are the fifth largest immigrant arrival location in the country. That is nothing new. CA, TX, FL, NY, NJ … Immigration is something we celebrate,” he wrote.
Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement that he’s monitoring the situation, but last year said New Jersey doesn’t have the resources to help people who are taken from the southern border crossings and wind up in New Jersey.
“We are already seeing folks in New Jersey that have probably swelled into Jersey from New York City or from other locations, but you need scale, an enormous amount of federal support — resources that go beyond anything that we can afford — putting everything else aside,” Murphy said in September.
Organizers like Kaper-Dale and Morsy of Make the Road New Jersey say the state can help migrants, and that their groups have been helping them for years.
Morsy said that her organization has a welcome center in Elizabeth where they connect people to services. They hold an event every month, where they see 200 to 400 newly arrived immigrants every time.
“We have been sort of a part of this … long drip of response to newly arrived migrants,” Morsy said. “…We believe that the state has an obligation and a responsibility, and has the capacity to welcome people who are fleeing danger or prosecution.”
