January 18, 2024 / By mobanmarket
EDISON, NJ — A total of 40 state organizations have written to Edison Council and Mayor Sam Joshi requesting the township create a subcommittee to look into the issue of asylum seekers.
This comes after Councilwoman Margot Harris suggested the idea during the Council meeting held on Jan. 4.
In their letter, the organizations once again asked Joshi to issue a public apology for his comments on migrants and asylum seekers arriving in Edison.
The signatories included community, faith, and labor organizations, some of whom attended the Jan. 4 Council meeting and invited Mayor Joshi and the Council to listen to the residents of Edison and immigrant communities in the area.
“We continue to urge Mayor Joshi to issue a statement of apology to New Jersey’s vital and substantial immigrant communities and call upon the council, to establish a subcommittee dedicated to creating a plan to securely receive future asylum seekers including but not limited to securing food, clothing distribution and assurances that no sensitive information collected is shared with ICE,” the letter said.
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“There are few things more discouraging to us than watching people who have received the welcome of communities we have established in New Jersey turn around and try to nail the door shut for newly arrived people. The language used by Mayor Joshi in statements made to the press epitomizes the language of dehumanization, and insults not only the migrants recently arrived in our state, but all immigrants across our state.”
The group noted that New Jersey was home to nearly 2 million immigrants and refugees, who make up communities, strengthen the economy, and add to the cultural diversity.
“As elected officials, it is your office’s direct responsibility to support the well-being and safety of your community and any migrants passing through; that you uphold our values of treating people with dignity and respect. Seeking asylum is a fundamental right protected by international law, accessible to everyone in need regardless of country of origin and race,” the group said in their letter.
Addressing Joshi directly, the group said the migrants on the buses are human beings looking for a better life for themselves and their children.
“If you can remove the fear from your heart, you just might be able to recognize a bit of yourself in them. For the good of your communities and all the communities of New Jersey, we invite you to issue a public apology for your comments and commit to establishing a plan for safely and compassionately welcoming all immigrants to Edison,” the letter read.
Residents, Council members, and organizations criticized the language used by Joshi while addressing the media on the migrant buses that stopped by in Edison at the end of December.
Several buses from Texas arrived at various transit points in New Jersey recently including Edison, Secaucus, Trenton and Fanwood, in a bid to sidestep New York City’s order to limit arrivals.
Edison officials even sent back one bus as they said the township did not have resources to help migrants.
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