Hundreds Of NJ Immigrant Workers March In Newark For Citizenship

Eric Kiefer
Updated ·5 min read

NEWARK, NJ — A large crowd of immigrant workers marched through downtown Newark on Sunday, all united under a common banner: citizenship.

On International Workers Day, hundreds of essential workers – many of them undocumented – took to the streets of Newark to “demand citizenship, COVID relief and job protections.”

It’s a small request considering that many of them have put their lives on the line during the coronavirus pandemic, according to Nidia Rodriguez, a member of Make the Road NJ, one of the groups that spearheaded the rally.

“During the pandemic I was an essential worker at a warehouse, risking my life so others can stay home,” said Rodriguez, who has spent the past six years working for temp agencies and at warehouses.

“I am here today to say that we are strong … we will continue fighting,” Rodriguez insisted.

Rodriguez and the other participants began the rally in Military Park, then marched to Broad Street where they held a moment of silence in front of the Peter Rodino Federal building where Department of Homeland Security/ICE offices are located. Read More: ICE In NJ Deported 500 People From Country In 3 Months, Feds Say

Here’s what the nearly 500 others who attended the Newark march are fighting for, according to Make the Road NJ, one of the groups that spearheaded the protest:

“In New Jersey, there are nearly a half million undocumented immigrants, 250,000 of whom have worked as essential workers throughout the pandemic, but have been excluded from nearly every form of relief and still fear deportation. While the Excluded New Jerseyan Fund has supported some families to receive relief, the majority continue to be excluded from aid.”

During the march, the workers urged state lawmakers to allocate $1 billion for the Excluded New Jerseyans Fund, and pass the Temp Bill of Rights (S511/A1474) to guarantee fair wages and equal pay for equal work for “temp” workers.

On the federal level, workers are seeking a “path to citizenship” and a halt to all deportations and detentions.

The United States’ immigration woes aren’t just a holdover of the Trump Administration either, activists say.

“Four months after the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as president and vice president, their campaign promises have not materialized,” said Serges Demefack, coordinator of the End Detention and Deportation Project, part of American Friends Service Committee Immigrant Rights Program in Newark.

“We’ve seen countless cases where the breadwinner of the family is deported leaving the family behind scrambling for many years,” Demefack said. “The U.S. Congress must stop detention and deportation and puts families and communities before politics.”

Other labor, immigrant and community groups that helped to organize the rally included American Friends Service Committee, SEIU 32BJ, SEIU NJ State Council UndocuRutgers, New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, NJCU Dreamers, North New Jersey Democratic Socialists of America, New Jersey Working Families Party and Latina Civic.

IMMIGRANTS AND TAXES

There are reportedly almost a half million undocumented immigrants living in the Garden State. And despite a common misperception, many pay taxes just like their neighbors, advocates say.

In April, Make the Road New Jersey hosted a rally in Paterson ahead of the tax filing deadline to highlight immigrants’ contributions to the state’s economy. The bottom line? Undocumented immigrants pay nearly $600 million in state and local taxes each year in addition to federal taxes – but don’t get benefits such as coronavirus stimulus checks or unemployment, advocates said.

Other experts blasted the “immigrants don’t pay taxes” myth during a panel last month.

“There is so much misunderstanding around immigrants and taxes,” said David Dyssegaard Kallick, director of Immigration Research Initiative.

“Immigrants pay sales taxes, and – even if they are renters – they contribute to property taxes,” Kallick said. “About $12 billion a year goes into the Social Security fund from the work of undocumented immigrants who will never collect benefits. And, yes, many undocumented immigrants file income tax returns, even though they are typically excluded from the type of tax credits that let other workers get a refund on April 15.”

It’s an irony that didn’t escape Paola Rodriguez when she risked her safety to keep food on people’s tables across New Jersey during the pandemic.

“For the past seven years I have worked preparing food alongside more than 200 employees, most of them immigrant women,” said Rodriguez, a member of Make the Road NJ. “But we didn’t have access to the safety net and were excluded from economic relief due to our immigration status – even though immigrants like me pay hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes.”

Despite the frustrations that many immigrant workers are feeling in New Jersey, events like Sunday’s rally offer some much-needed camaraderie, according to Rashel Bernal, a member of Make the Road NJ and UndocuRutgers.

“It’s powerful to look out into the crowd today and know that we’re here today, because May Day is about uplifting our stories as the working class and fighting for justice,” Bernal said Sunday.

“We’re making a statement today by taking over the streets of Newark,” Bernal said. “We’re chanting and sharing our stories so that our representatives see this people power. We are angry at the waiting game we are stuck in and how decades later we’re still fighting for a pathway to citizenship. On this May Day, we want to remind New Jersey senators and congresspeople that we want leaders that will stand with immigrant communities.”

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

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Hundreds Of NJ Immigrant Workers March In Newark For Citizenship originally appeared on the Newark Patch