By Kevin Coughlin
In the wake of federal immigration sweeps around the country, and as President Trump promises a new executive order to curb immigration, Morristown clergy and town officials are planning a series of community forums to allay concerns of immigrants here.
“All of Morristown’s residents deserve a secure environment to raise their families, go to work, and contribute to society without fear. Now more than ever, it is important for all of Morristown’s community leaders to work together,” Mayor Tim Dougherty said in a statement after meeting with more than a dozen area religious leaders last week.
Four forums are contemplated in April, after creation of a short educational video next month to stimulate discussions in area congregations, according to members of the Morristown Area Clergy Council.
The video would feature the Mayor and Johanna Calle of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice.
The Alliance, an umbrella organization that includes Morristown-based Wind of the Spirit, authored the “Fair & Welcoming” resolution presented last week to the town council.
Madison and a few other municipalities across the state have adopted such resolutions to show opposition to the President’s immigration policies.
Morristown Police Chief Pete Demnitz told the council audience that he understands immigrants’ wariness of local police, but declared: “You do not have to have this fear here.”
The chief emphasized his longstanding opposition to 287(g), a federal program to deputize police as immigration agents.
CIVIL OFFENSE, NOT A CRIME
Clergy met with the Mayor and Council President Stefan Armington on the morning after that council session. Representatives of the Alliance for Immigrant Justice, Wind of the Spirit and New Jersey Together also attended.
Participants discussed state Attorney General guidelines for policing immigration laws, and how to craft policies that adhere to state and federal laws while acknowledging that being “undocumented” is a civil offense, not a criminal one, said the Rev. Sarah Green, associate pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Morristown.
They also talked about how anti-discrimination language in an immigration resolution could protect other marginalized groups, Green said. Clergy members plan to work closely with Wind of the Spirit to coordinate efforts.
“We’re all pushing toward the same end, after all,” Green said.
The Rev. Brandon Cho, pastor of the Morristown United Methodist Church, said a “Fair & Welcoming” resolution would tell immigrants they are safe in Morristown.
“It shouldn’t matter whether they are documented or undocumented,” said Cho.
He knows the immigrant experience first-hand: He grew up in Hawaii as the child of Korean immigrants. And his church serves a growing number of Latino families through its Nueva Esperanza (New Hope) ministry.
“A good many of them are scared, concerned, and feeling unwelcomed and unsafe,” Cho said.
“We are having to work extra hard to earn their trust and show them that they are welcomed, valued and loved in our church — this house of God. After all, they are children of God, like you and me.”
UPDATE:
Father Hernan Arias, pastor of St. Margaret of Scotland Roman Catholic Church, also has intimate knowledge of immigration. His family came to Morristown from Colombia in 1975. It was easier to obtain green cards then, he said. His father had a job waiting here.
Arias understands there are many sides to the present debate.
“I am sorry some gave crossed the border illegally, undocumented,” the priest said. “But nobody leaves a country that is at peace, with a good way of life. They leave because of violence, and poverty, and gangs, and a lack of jobs.”
Morristown always has welcomed immigrants, who work hard and pay taxes, Arias said.
“This is a great country, with great opportunities,” he said. “That’s why we have to be sensitive.”
There are plenty of anti-Americans who are okay with the illegals, okay with them breaking our laws, refusing to bother to learn our language while expecting us to accommodate them, and “press 1 (or 2) for English.
Those people would rather reward the illegals for jumping the line while ignoring those who did it the right way.
A lot of these types (their comments are here) are suburban fakers and phonies filled with false outrage, removed from the realities of what the illegals do to this country,
Mayor Dougherty, Morristown clergy and organizations like Wind of the Spirit are promoting constructive dialogue in the local immigration debate and are advocates for policies that reflect our nation’s best traditions of hospitality.
I am gratified to know that when choosing Morristown as our home, we’ve selected a place where government and local institutions support opposition to all forms of discrimination and hatred and strive to create a community where all are treated with dignity and respect.
Again I see the negative comment comes from someone unwilling to attach their hate to their real name.
This is wonderful, I’m not a churchgoer myself, but I think times like these are when we’re reminded of how important area churches are to providing some kind of community cohesion. Looking forward to the forums, I’m interested in anything I can do to help!
To the Morristown Green editors, after reading how the Morris Township mayor is aligned in many ways with Mr. Trump, can you find out what Morris Township’s stance is on this issue? Will they be using their police force against undocumented residents or not?
Let us try to clear the air of our many misconceptions of what “immigrant” “refugee” and “illegal alien” actually mean. If we take advantage of these efforts to provide the community with the necessary understanding to be able to think and act reasonably and responsibly, then the reality of immigration which has been a foundational part of our country’s history will assume its rightful place in our lives.
Deliberate deception again by the use of the word “immigrant” instead of illegal alien.
Nice to see public officials ignoring the law and enabling these invaders!