February 25, 2020

(Elizabeth, NJ) In response to Governor Phil Murphy’s FY2021 Budget Address, Make the Road New Jersey members made the following statements:

Regarding the Governor’s proposal to invest in legal defense of immigrants:

“We thank Governor Murphy for his $3.1 million investment in legal defense of immigrants who are detained and facing deportation in New Jersey. As the Trump administration threatens to send Border Patrol SWAT teams into our cities to rip families apart, legal representation for immigrants is key to keeping our families together and ensuring due process for all. No one should have to face detention and permanent family separation without a lawyer by their side. We urge the legislature to increase this critical funding, and expand it to cover all immigrants who are detained and facing deportation in New Jersey,” said Mario Artiga, Make the Road NJ member and formerly detained immigrant.

Regarding the Governor’s proposal to expand EITC:

“We deeply appreciate Governor Murphy’s proposal to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) age eligibility from 25 to 21 years of age. I am 24 years old, work in the electrical distribution industry, attend college, care for my mother, and struggle to make ends meet. This expansion will help workers like me and boost the take home pay of more than 60,000 residents across the state. Working adults without children are the lone group that the federal tax code taxes into or deeper into poverty, largely because they are also the only group largely excluded from the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). We urge the legislature to pass this expansion, so that more workers can provide for their families,” said Sergio Baron, member of Make the Road NJ.

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Make the Road New Jersey builds the power of immigrant and working-class communities in New Jersey to achieve dignity and justice through community organizing, legal and support services, transformative education and policy innovation.

Make the Road NJ
http://www.maketheroadnj.org/