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Migrant detainees in Bergen County ask Menendez, Booker to support their release
In a four-page letter sent to Democratic U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Bob Menendez, 15 former and current migrant detainees held in the Bergen County Jail pleaded with the senators to support the detainees’ pleas for release. The Bergen County Jail is depopulating after severing its lucrative contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The […]
Applications open for fund to help N.J. workers excluded from state, federal benefits
After 19 months of undocumented immigrants and other residents falling into debt while being excluded from pandemic-era relief funds, New Jersey’s long-awaited Excluded Workers Fund began accepting applications Wednesday. The long-awaited program, to be administrated by the state Department of Human Services, will be first come, first served, and will accept applications until its $40 […]
Advocates call for releases of migrants detained in Bergen County Jail
Jean Ismael Bien Aime Nicolas sits in the Bergen County Jail in Hackensack, where he’s been held since 2018. Some time in the next few days, he’ll likely be transferred to a facility hundreds of miles away as the jail begins depopulating migrant detainees. The Haitian man said he expects his case will be reviewed […]
Vaccine proof or negative COVID test soon required to enter N.J. Statehouse
All lawmakers, aides, reporters, and visitors to the Statehouse in Trenton must show proof of vaccination or recent negative COVID test results to enter the building after a state commission approved the new mandate Tuesday morning. The vaccine-or-test rule goes into effect Dec. 1, according to the measure passed by the State Capitol Joint Management […]
Biden calls on Congress to pass infrastructure bill, touting new Portal Bridge construction
President Joe Biden kicked off the week in New Jersey with Gov. Phil Murphy and other state officials to celebrate the impending construction of the new Portal Bridge, with Biden using the trip to deliver remarks on the $1 trillion infrastructure bill and spending plan that are stalled in Congress. Speaking in front of three […]
Haitian immigrants rally against deportations
More than 50 Haitian and Black immigrants gathered on the steps of a federal immigration office in downtown Newark Friday, singing Creole songs and chanting calls for the Biden administration to stop deporting Black migrants. Sparked by the widely shared images of border agents on horseback dispersing migrants, demonstrators outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs […]
Activists troubled that N.J. cities sought DEA surveillance of 2020 protests
Activists are concerned about reports showing three New Jersey law enforcement agencies requested the federal government provide surveillance operations during Black Lives Matter protests last summer. The Asbury Park Police Department, Newark Police Department and Essex County Sheriff’s Office all reached out to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in hopes of collecting intelligence on “radical […]
Port Authority’s deal with Amazon violated board’s public meeting rules, report says
A new report claims the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey approved a massive deal for an Amazon cargo hub at the Newark airport through backroom deals with little transparency, and alleges Amazon’s unfair labor practices violate the agency’s code of ethics. Published by Hedge Clippers, a national labor advocacy organization, the report […]
Judge reprimanded for making sexual comments to woman defendant
A former judge who alluded to sexual acts while speaking to a woman defendant has been publicly reprimanded by the state’s highest court. Hector L. Rodriguez, a former Franklin Township judge, violated three tenets of state judicial ethics rules during a Dec. 5, 2017 hearing involving an unnamed woman who was charged with multiple drug offenses, […]
N.J. finalizes expanded protections under paid-leave law
More New Jersey workers will be protected for taking time off for family leave due to COVID-19 under new rules related to the state’s Family Leave Act, the state Attorney General’s Office announced Monday. The rules expand the law’s job protections to people who, during a state of emergency, need to care for a family […]
Betting on college sports, raffle proceeds for nonprofits on the November ballot
New Jersey voters will be faced with two statewide referendums on the ballot this year, both aiming to amend the constitution to change gambling rules. The first ballot question will ask voters whether to allow betting on all in-state college sports. While sports betting was legalized in 2018, this question would amend that law to […]
N.J. career centers set to reopen after prolonged closures
New Jersey’s one-stop career centers, which can be a lifeline for the state’s jobless, are set to reopen Monday when state employees are scheduled to return to their offices. Some lawmakers worry the centers may see lines of people hoping to get unemployment claims settled, even though the centers are not equipped to handle those […]