lets many state views
on volatile issue
Immigration situation
lights hot public debate
Meeting in Freehold
lets many state views
on volatile issue
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer
They came from different parts of Freehold Borough and from different parts of Monmouth County to attend the Freehold Borough Council’s Dec. 1 meeting.
Some carried signs, others carried anger and ill-feelings, while still others carried their hearts in their hands.
Most of the people who filled Borough Hall came in response to a decision by municipal officials to close a day laborers’ muster zone on Throckmorton Street on Jan. 1. The muster zone has been used for three years as a place where day laborers wait to be picked up by an employer.
Many of the people who wait for work are in the United States illegally.
The order to close the muster zone came in response to issues the borough has been experiencing as immigrants continue to come to Freehold Borough in search of work.
The meeting room was divided by whatever opinion a person held on the matter.
The left side of the room was where borough residents and members of a new group calling itself Monmouth County Residents for Immigrants Rights were sitting. Members of the group came from Wall Township, Howell, Freehold Township, Neptune, Manasquan, Brick Township, Keansburg and other communities.
Across the room sat Cecilia Reynolds, publisher of the Spanish language newspaper Nosotros and a liaison to the immigrant community. Flanking Reynolds were Hispanic men who were identified as day laborers.
The Monmouth County Residents for Immigrants Rights came to protest the plan to close the muster zone. The group members said they believe the order is unconstitutional.
Conversely, Reynolds wanted to let borough officials know she has no allegiance or connection to the Monmouth County Residents for Immigrants Rights. Reynolds is a member of the borough’s Human Rights Committee.
In front of Borough Hall, people carried signs that stated, "No human beings are illegal," "Respect Latino workers" and "Immigrants Pay Taxes Too."
When the meeting was opened to public comment, Virginia McGlone of the Monmouth County Residents for Immigrants Rights addressed the council. She asked if there were any solutions that could be made public at the meeting.
"Are there any immediate plans to address the issue so that the day laborers are not confused and left in the dark?" McGlone asked.
She also asked if the council had notified officials in other towns and asked them to open muster zones. McGlone also refereed to a hiring hall the community of Morristown is in the process of building.
"Couldn’t we have had something more organized in place before the order to close [the muster zone] was given?" she asked.
Rita Dentino of Howell, a representative of the New Jersey National Organization of Women Combating Racism task force, said, "No human being is illegal. We find racism abhorrent and feel it flies in the face of human rights."
Dentino wanted the town to lead the way to the "legal road to citizenship," so that immigrants would then be able to reunite with their family.
"Closing the muster zone is an obvious attempt on the part of the town to reduce the Latino population," she said.
Reynolds said she came to the meeting to speak on behalf of borough residents who use the muster zone as a way to find work.
"I would like the mayor and council to know that the people currently using the muster zone are not associated with the people who are here protesting the closure of the muster zone. Nor did they request these protesters to come here on their behalf," Reynolds said.
She said the borough’s immigrant community is asking the mayor and council "to work with the residents to find an alternative muster zone to be used by the residents of Freehold Borough only. They would also work together with borough officials to prepare guidelines on how this new muster zone would be used."
Reynolds said the guidelines should include some type of identification to show that people who are using the muster zone are residents of the borough, thereby eliminating the chance of nonresidents coming to a new hiring area to seek employment.
"On behalf of these residents of Freehold Borough, I would like to thank the mayor and council for their cooperation in this matter," she said.
Reynolds told council members that the owner of the 6-12 convenience store on Broad Street has agreed to allow people to wait at the parking lot between 6-10 a.m.
Resident John Mayfield said he thought Freehold Borough was the "most beautiful, respected, balanced well run town."
"I know you are being attacked here, but I think you are doing a beautiful job. I remember what the town was and I know what it is now," he said.
Javier Gonzalez, a representative from the National Day Laborers Organizing Network, told the council his organization helps to organize day laborers in different parts of the country in order to become more effective and to help form leaders in the day laborer community.
"We foster leadership and healthy, safe, humane conditions for workers. The day laborer issue is not particular to Freehold. It is in many towns. Many towns are managing this issue by involving all the major stakeholders like town officials, police departments, businesses and the day laborers themselves," he said.
"There are other towns who use the wrong approach though and write day laborer ordinances that may actually try to bar the presence of immigrants in public. This practice is not effective," Gonzalez said. "You’re punishing the day laborers but you also are punishing the people who receive their services. It’s an economic phenomenon, the law of supply and demand."
Gonzalez asked the council to create a day labor task force that would facilitate permanent solutions to the issue.
Resident Steve Bidun said, "You’re creating a monster here. They are illegal. Let them get up and get ready and go to work every morning like everyone else, Don’t hang out at the 6-12 all day long waiting. I think we should all boycott the 6-12 store. This is not about illegals, this is about citizens."
Resident Vanessa Minnella said, "This is not about racism, this is not about hate. The fact remains that these people did not come into the country through proper legal channels like other immigrants did. Once you come through the proper channels, you become entitled to Social Security and benefits. And I’m tired of tripping over people in this town."
Resident Bill Kinsey said he’s "opposed to what’s going on in the town." He said he remembers how people of all races have lived together in the borough for years.
"I can’t believe this town is doing this. I remember standing out here for day labor work as a child myself," he said.
Kinsey also reminded council members that people from many ethnic backgrounds came here illegally years ago. He asked the council members to try and find a location where day laborers can gather without putting the town in jeopardy.
Former councilman Marc Levine said, "The issue is that this is a small town and we already have 10,700 people in this town. There are other larger towns that can more easily accommodate this population [of immigrants]."
He said the borough can not be home to the entire western Monmouth County work force.
"This has to stop. The council must be held accountable for this," Levine said.
Mahonry Hidalgo, a member of the Monmouth County Residents for Immigrants Rights, said he had been told by people that if he stated his concerns he would be considered an outside agitator. He cited other people in history who were considered outside agitators like the Freedom Riders who supported civil rights in the south during the 1960s.
"I am an outsider. I live in Belmar but I work in Freehold. Behind this issue is the truth that these men are supporting families and children," Hidalgo said.
Resident Carol Hendrickson said she had many immigrant stories in her own family.
"I had great expectations for my town that would respect the rights of people who have just arrived," she said. "It’s hard for me to believe that my town, which I love so much, is not working to find a solution for this issue. If you stomp on the rights of one human being, you stomp on the rights of all human beings."
The Rev. Jaqueline Hamilton of Neptune said, "My heart goes out to my brothers and sisters here. Freehold is our county seat and must respect the diversity of all people. If the town of Freehold closes the muster zone, our county seat has let us down."
The Rev. Myra Bethke of the First United Methodist Church, Freehold, reminded council members that, "We are all human beings with the same needs. We need to find ways to work together. When we label one another with names they become ‘other people.’ When we learn their names, they become one of us. Our strength is in our humanity."
Bethke was followed by a Keansburg resident who said, "If there is a concrete problem in the town, then first everyone should sit down and figure it out. But the first thing that has to be done is to repeal the order that promises to put honest, hard-working men in jail for 30 days (for trespassing at the muster zone after Jan. 1). Everything has a solution, but don’t say you’ll put them in jail before you find it. In the spirit of Christmas and Mary and Joseph, who had no papers by the way, please put aside the threat of arrest for these workers."
Gustavo Arena of Argentina told council members he understood that the day laborers needed to become more organized.
"But before you make the decision to close the muster zone, please place your hand on your heart and then remember that we, too, are human beings with or without papers. We are not protesters. We respect the laws here. We have stood out there with no roof in the rain and in the snow. We would just like to find a better solution. All we want to do is work. If we have made mistakes, then we apologize to you here," he said.
Resident Samantha Daesener said, "This is quality of life issues, not racism. I don’t want to live with 50 people. I don’t want you to live with 50 people. We want you to live good in Freehold. We don’t want you to get out. That’s why so many here have already accepted you. I don’t know what the solution is. All I know is that in truth, a lot of people are going to get hurt. Overcrowding is not good for you, for us, for your children, for taxes, for the police department or for the town council. It affects all of us."