Immigrants are just asking for chance to make a living

I am alarmed by the responses I occasionally hear or read in Freehold Borough regarding recent immigrants, also known as our neighbors. I believe many people who want them to leave the borough have ancestors who faced similar opposition and must be rolling over in their graves. What short memories some of us can have.

People complain of an "underground economy" that is eroding our community. I remember this community with numerous empty storefronts downtown; a Main Street where closings were more common than openings. Freehold’s recent renaissance is due in no small part to the labors of our recent immigrants.

In downtown Freehold, most businesses depend upon their labor and patronage. In the Boro Plaza, immigrants own and operate no less than five businesses, on Main Street no less than six, and at least four more on South Street.

While there are fewer farms in the area than in the past, how many remaining farms could operate without this labor source? Were it not for the immigrant consumers and work force with their huge contribution to the area economy, how well would Freehold be doing, what renaissance could have occurred?

I question Marc LeVine’s (PEOPLE) motives for his opposition to the immigrants’ right to live and work in Freehold Borough. Does he have an ax to grind after his attempt to operate a for-profit employment agency failed? Brickforce failed because the workers were unwilling to work for a minimum wage while his company charged much more than that amount for their service to employers.

Many people claim that the borough schools are overcrowded because of the recent immigrants in town. School overcrowding is epidemic in towns all over New Jersey, many with few immigrants. Keansburg is an example of a town where school overcrowding is worse than in the borough, there are higher property taxes, and almost no immigrants.

If history is any indication, these current "burdens" to our schools will become tomorrow’s assimilated adults who will go to college and become professionals or businesses owners. Every ethnic group that arrived before has faced similar challenges and has become a part of what makes our country great.

Freehold Borough has embarked on a policy of intimidation and harassment in an unconstitutional attempt to "move" the immigrants to other areas.

I would not have believed it if I had not read the complaint myself. Two Latino men from Lakewood, in Freehold seeking work, were fined $150 each, the complaint read "officer discretion," Freehold Borough Municipal Court. The unconstitutional closing of the Throckmorton Street muster site is the latest attempt by the borough to move the immigrant population away from Freehold.

Rev. Andre McGuire and his Second Baptist Church congregation has agreed, in the same spirit as the good Samaritan, to operate a not-for-profit temporary hiring hall while a more permanent site is located. We hope to create and operate this hiring hall so that the entire operation can soon be moved to a location better for all concerned.

I encourage all residents to contact their borough and county representatives and urge them to move quickly in allowing another site to be used in the spring. I ask everyone to support the Second Baptist Church endeavor. If you can provide financial help, please send it to "I beseech thee," c/o Second Baptist Church 133 Throckmorton St., Freehold 07728. If you wish to assist directly in the operation, please offer your help Monday through Saturday, 6-11 a.m. at the church.

Stephen A. Richter

Freehold Borough