NJCIC
In The News
Cover All Kids- Reflecting on our Enrollment Campaign Webinar
Latino Action Network Foundation, New Jersey Citizen Action, & NJCIC
September 16, 2023
In this webinar, special guest panelists from LANF, NJCA, and NJCIC reflect and discuss the impact that Cover All Kids has had in our communities.
Op-Ed: Expansion of ICE family removal program in NJ is an outrage
NJ Spotlight News - Priscilla Monico Marin, Esq.
September 1, 2023
New Jersey just became one of only three states in the country to host multiple sites for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency’s new expedited family removal program. New Jersey now has one site in north Jersey and one in South Jersey. Given New Jersey’s size, and the expansive coverage of each location, immigrant families with children under 18 across the state may be enrolled in the program, putting them at risk of expedited deportation within just 30 days. Any New Jerseyan concerned about the safety and well-being of children and families should be outraged…
Unwavering in our Vision, Unwavering in our Support: New Grants to Advance Racial Justice
Geraldine R. Doge Foundation - Tanuja Dehne
June 28, 2023
Today, we are excited to announce that the Dodge Foundation’s latest cycle of grants provides support to over 30 organizations focused on addressing the root cause and repair of structural racism and inequity across New Jersey. These organizations are working on everything from building power among immigrant communities to advocating for housing and environmental justice…
Immigrants Demand More Protections in NJ
NJ Spotlight News - Brenda Flanagan
June 26, 2023
Advocates rallied outside the State House in Trenton Monday, trying to focus lawmakers’ attention on immigrant justice bills that have languished in the Legislature. Speakers promoted measures to enhance language access and privacy protections regardless of someone’s immigration status. “…there aren’t sufficient protections to keep New Jersey from voluntarily helping ICE or collecting information that can fall into the hands of the federal immigration enforcement,” said Eric Cruz Morales of the Alliance for Immigrant Justice…
Title 42 ends, but migrants confront new restrictions
NJ Spotlight News - Brenda Flanagan
May 12, 2023
As Title 42 expired and some 60,000 migrants sought ways to cross the southern border, veterans who already made that difficult trip watched from their sanctuary in New Jersey. They want to remain anonymous. One recalled his trip from Venezuela, through the infamous Darien Pass. “When I crossed the jungles at Darien, which is in Panama, I seen a lot of sick kids. Families almost not able to make it. Dead bodies. I have concluded it has been worthwhile — it’s worth it,” he said. Rev. Seth Kaper-Dale offers refuge at his nonprofit in Highland Park and says this latest surge will strain already scarce resources…
New Jersey Leads on Historic Language Access Proposal
Insider NJ
March 6, 2023
Trenton, NJ [March 6, 2023] – Today, New Jerseyans witnessed history as Senator Ruiz’s Language Access bill (S2459) passed out of the Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee, bringing the state one step closer to eliminating discriminatory language barriers for New Jersey’s immensely diverse population. “We are a multilingual state and we are a diverse state. Because we have been overlooked for so long, our communities do not always receive the visibility we deserve. It then becomes more difficult for us to advocate for the programs and services we deserve because our voices are silenced. With the Language Access Bill this much closer to becoming law, our communities have hope that our voices can finally be heard,” said Erik Cruz Morales, Policy and Campaigns Manager with the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice…
Advocates Work to Sign Up More Kids for NJ Health Insurance
NJ Spotlight News
February 6, 2023
NJCIC Policy Program Director Lady Jimenez Torres speaks to the community about Cover All Kids
Undocumented children now covered for health insurance in NJ
NJ Spotlight News - Lilo H. Stainton, Taylor Jung
January 13, 2023
Immigrant and health care advocates are eager to spread the word about a state program that now enables all children regardless of their residency or citizenship status to get public health insurance if their families meet the financial criteria. Several advocates called it New Jersey’s best kept secret of 2023, at least so far. “We think the government is being very slow with the implementation of the program,” said Elizabeth Chabla, services director for Make the Road New Jersey, an immigrant advocacy group that has long called for the change…
Warning of crisis, child care advocates ask for federal dollars
New Jersey Monitor - Nikita Biryukov
August 22, 2022
A bevy of speakers urged officials Monday to direct federal dollars toward boosting staffing at child care centers during a listening session on how the state should spend New Jersey’s unallocated American Rescue Plan funds. Child care advocates and business groups said the state’s child care system is faltering in the face of surging inflation and a broader hiring crunch that has pushed up wages in other sectors, drawing workers from the low-paying field that underpins much of the state’s economy…
Immigrant Students Need Better Mental Health
NJ Spotlight News
March 31, 2022
NJCIC Policy Program Lady Jimenez-Torres speaks with NJ Spotlight News on the mental health needs of the immigrant community
N.J. immigrant students face barriers to mental health aid. What needs to change?
Chalkbeat - Catherine Carrera
March 24, 2022
Immigrant students in New Jersey need more support in schools to address their unique mental health needs, a new report from immigrant youth advocates states. A child’s experience migrating to a new country can be traumatic, isolating, and distressing — on top of that, the pandemic has caused significant loss and grief for immigrant and refugee communities. The New Jersey Consortium for Immigrant Children, a coalition of legal advocates for immigrant youth, released a report last week detailing these and other findings, and focused on highlighting children’s personal experiences during the pandemic that affected their mental health…
Immigrant children often face deportation hearings without a lawyer. NJ wants to change that.
NorthJersey.com - Hannan Adely
June 29, 2021
More than 275,000 children — many fleeing gangs, violence and extreme poverty — have crossed the U.S. border without a parent or guardian in the past six years, seeking protection. Many end up navigating the complex immigration system alone, because the United States does not guarantee legal counsel for unaccompanied minors. That could change in New Jersey, which is poised to become the second state in the nation after California to fund a statewide legal support program for unaccompanied minors…
