Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey denounces Kim Guadagno’ s recent campaign ad regarding sanctuary cities

For Immediate Release Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on NJ 201-935-0035 chamber@shccnj.org

Lyndhurst, NJ – The Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey is the voice of the 119,000 Hispanic Businesses that call New Jersey home. Some of our business-owning members are undocumented immigrants, a situation our nation faces thanks to Congress’ inaction to pass Immigration reform. These businesses contribute to our economy and are an important part of New Jersey’s rich cultural and economic fiber. It is, for this reason, we denounce Kim Guadagno’ s recent campaign ad regarding sanctuary cities, eluding to a murder committed by a lone undocumented immigrant. The ad showcases Phil Murphy backing Dreamers when asked at an event about DACA, implying he endorses criminals. Murphy understands law enforcement thrives in the community’s cooperation with authorities. If a community lives in fear, it will not report crime and hamper law enforcement measures. Undocumented Immigrants commit crimes at a *lower rate than US residents and citizens, so to portray the collective as criminals feeds into the xenophobia and stereotypical depictions, akin to President Trump’s rhetoric which has resulted in racist and bigoted attacks across the nation. To use a clip out of context and state that Phil Murphy embraces a criminal is disingenuous, misleading, and unexpected coming from Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno, whom we have had the pleasure to work with and has often lauded our success stories. Recently, the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce came out in support of Dreamers. We at the SHCCNJ also remain in solidarity with all dreamers and understand the valuable impact they make to New Jersey. We have worked with both candidates to educate them about the contributions that both Hispanic and Immigrant Hispanic Businesses make to New Jersey. We will continue to do so until the election and during the successful candidate’s term.

About the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of NJ
The Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey (SHCCNJ), had its beginnings in 1989 when Business leaders met with Governor Tom Kean and were encouraged to start a Chamber to foster, mentor and train Hispanic Owned business in New Jersey. Over the years, various publications have ranked our chamber among the largest in the state. As a not-for-profit organization for over 28 years, SHCCNJ has become the voice of the 119,000 Hispanic Owned businesses that contribute over $20 Billion to the State’s economy.