Inappropriate treatment in deportation centers, lack of decent legal representation, inability to obtain driver’s licenses, raids, discrimination and exploitation by employers are recurring subjects of discussion at meetings of the immigration panel formed by Governor John Corzine.
Representatives of immigrant organizations, as well as private individuals, have recently spoken before the immigration panel. Eleven-year-old Camilo Lemos made a big impression on the committee when he spoke about his friend James, whose mom – an undocumented immigrant – works extremely hard. Since James’ mother does not have a driver’s license, she spends a big chunk of the hard-earned money on cabs. “There are many situations like this one in New Jersey,” said Camilo. No less moving was the speech of 18-year-old Ana Avila, who was born in Honduras and has lived on a humanitarian visa in the United States for the past 16 years. "I was accepted to Rutgers University, but I won’t be able to take advantage of this opportunity because I don’t have a green card,” she said, naming her numerous academic achievements and talking about her eagerness to continue her education.
"I think that education issues, English lessons for immigrants, as well as healthcare issues have a good chance of being covered by the State legislations,” said Cami Huk, a committee member and a representative of an advisory committee on ethnic issues at the governor’s office. “I am happy that this time Polish immigrants were also present,” added Huk, who holds close to heart the issues of our ethnic group. Polish immigrants were represented by Jan Rutkowski, vice president of the KPA Department in New Jersey, who spoke on three subjects: equality in regard to access to education, and especially the great need to make free English classes available to immigrants, financial support for immigrant students, and police on the street who send undocumented immigrant drivers to deportation centers.
Due to the large numbers of speakers, each of the 70 immigrants who spoke on Wednesday at a University of New Jersey auditorium had only three minutes to speak. The remainder of the issues the immigrants wanted to share with the State authorities was submitted in writing. Oral testimonies, as well as written reports will be taken into consideration when the official immigration policy of the State of New Jersey is made.
Included in the issues that Jan Rutkowski tackled in his written report are the inhumane treatment of immigrants in deportation centers, lack of appropriate legal information, and the negative influence deportation of family members has on families and children, who are often U.S. citizens. "The anti-immigrant atmosphere prevalent not just in our state causes many of our compatriots – regardless of their status – to go back to Poland, where the socio-economic situation continues to improve. This is a loss for the U.S. economy,” wrote Jan Rutkowski in his report.
"We have to follow the example of Latinos and Asians whose representation before the panel was the strongest. Like them, we need to come together as group and talk about our worries and problems. The more we talk the better the chance that someone will hear us and help us,” Rutkowki told Nowy Dziennik. Jan Rutkowski himself has experienced difficulties in adapting to the U.S. reality. He left Poland when he was 14, and as many hard working immigrants, he completed his education. For many years he’s worked for NJ Transit, holding important positions there. In his free time Rutkowski is an active member of the Polish community.
