American Arab Forum
www.aafusa.org
For Immediate Release AAF welcomes the creation of the NJ Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel on Immigration Polices Contact: Aref Assaf, 973-960-2673 Paterson, NJ, August 10, 2007: The American Arab Forum, AAF, welcomes the creation of the Governor's Blue Ribbon Panel on Immigration. The panel is entrusted with "developing recommendations for a comprehensive and strategic statewide approach to successfully integrating immigrants in the State." Governor Jon Corzine has demonstrated his commitment to empowering all the citizens of New Jersey to benefit from the state's resources and to also contribute fruitfully to its progress. As the national debate on immigration reforms has been put on hold due to Congressional stalemate, serious attempts at accommodating the human and civil needs of immigrants are needed to counter measures to criminalize, dehumanize, and castigate immigrants. While we welcome the Governor's initiative, we also recognize that the plight of immigrants will not be resolved until Congress acts. No substantive discussion of this issue will occur until after the 2008 presidential elections. Meanwhile, the panel could advise the Governor on appropriate ways to deal with local ordinances which negatively impact the lives of immigrants. The case of Morristown deputizing officers and Freehold banning rentals without status verification are two topics requiring immediate attention.
Aref Assaf, President of AAF, lauded the Governor for "taking practical steps to integrate and ease the burden of immigrants." Assaf added that, "immigrants have long been recognized as the blood line of America's continued world leadership in such vital areas as economic, cultural, and scientific fields.” Mr. Assaf lauded the Governor for his decision to appoint an Arab American, Samer Khalaf, as member of this panel. We take note of this appointment which signals a new departure for our community- for long absent from state-wide policy makers. The issue of Arab Americans wishing to become citizens or desiring to be reunited with their relatives ought to be included in any policy recommendation by the panel."
We recall Corzine's recent statement on this topic where he stated that "a path to earned citizenship and a process that encourages and promotes self-sufficiency and enables our immigrant population to continue contributing fully to our society. Family reunification should be a priority not an afterthought." End
View Press Release creating the Panel
To view AAF position on hurdles facing Arab immigrants, please click here To view AAF view on deputizing police officers, please click here Related background: Immigration Reforms; Underlying Variables |
