Measure protects honest workers, punishes cheaters

By STEPHEN M. SWEENEY

Just about the first thing I mentioned when I spoke about my bill to impose penalties on companies that knowingly hire illegal workers is that New Jersey should welcome legal immigrants with open arms.

The way I see it, New Jersey is the best state in the greatest country in the world, and it's where I want to live out my American dream. I'm proud to work here and to live here with my family.

As my colleague and friend, state Sen. John Adler, D-Camden, said when he signed on as co-sponsor of my bill, S-1312, there's nothing wrong with encouraging people to live life by the rules. That's really the goal of this legislation -- to protect honest workers who want to live in New Jersey and raise their kids here and to punish those who want to cheat the system by cutting payroll costs through the use of illegal workers.

By Amy Gottlieb

For the Courier Post

State Senate Majority Leader Stephen M. Sweeney, D-Gloucester, has long been a friend of New Jersey's working residents, a strong voice for fair wages and family leave among other policies that support worker rights. His recent proposal to penalize employers who knowingly hire undocumented immigrant workers takes a different direction. Instead of protecting New Jersey's workers, this proposal invites discrimination and can lead to a growth in underground jobs.

GANNETT STATE BUREAU

February 25, 2008

By Tom Baldwin

TRENTON — Just when Gov. Jon S. Corzine needs friends, a key Democratic lawmaker has landed in a fight with a mainstay of their party's political base, New Jersey's large and growing Latino population. Senate Majority Leader Stephen M. Sweeney, D-Gloucester, has drawn the ire of some Latino leaders by introducing a bill that would penalize firms that knowingly hire illegal immigrants. This idea set off a sharp protest from Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey president Martin Perez. The angry rhetoric comes at a time when Corzine, a little over halfway into his four-year term, needs all the help he can get. The governor appears to have lost legislative and popular support for his idea to raise tolls to trim the state debt. And, things might get harder in the days ahead, when Corzine unveils his state budget, which may include layoffs of state employees -- another core constituency often loyal to Democrat. It is into this atmosphere that Sweeney has drawn the ire of some Latino leaders.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

By Heather Appel

South Jersey may be a world apart from Passaic County, but communities at both ends of the state are feeling reverberations from recent policy changes and proposals on immigration. Immigrant access to driver's licenses, higher education and the fate of New Jersey's agricultural workers were prominent topics at a hearing last week in Bridgeton. The session was the second of three planned by the governor's Blue Ribbon Advisory Council on Immigrant Policy. The final one is tentatively scheduled for May in North Jersey. The attorney general's directive requiring local police to inquire about the immigration status of individuals arrested on certain criminal charges, and proposed state legislation that would penalize employers who hire undocumented workers also weighed heavily on people's minds as they testified about the obstacles facing workers and employers in the state. The testimonies of South Jersey migrant workers, employers, clergy and teachers painted a picture of a community on edge after a series of immigration raids around the state, including those in Passaic in February.