• 2025-12-15 18:01:27
• Gun Violence

"When children worry about their families being separated, learning takes a back seat to survival." This is the plea from dozens of New Jersey teachers, who are urging state lawmakers to pass a controversial immigration bill as the clock ticks down on the latest lame duck session in Trenton.

The Immigrant Trust Act (

The proposed law has seen hearty cheers – and stiff criticism.

AAPI New Jersey, an advocacy group that initially formed to combat "anti-Asian hate," recently sent a

The letter is signed by a group of Garden State educators, ranging from grade school teachers and school counselors to college and university professors.

Here's why the law is needed, the letter said:

"Over 40% of students in New Jersey live with an immigrant family member, and over 10% of students have an undocumented parent. New Jersey's communities are experiencing a near 100% increase in ICE activity, with over 5,500 people arrested by ICE since the beginning of this year as compared to 2,800 last year, according to the

Other advocacy groups that are supporting the bill include the

Critics of the proposed law are pushing hard for its defeat, however.

Assemblyman Paul Kanitra (NJ-10) and the NJ Assembly GOP recently included the Immigrant Trust Act on a

Kanitra called the bill a "copy of the attorney general's already disastrous policy," otherwise known as the

Kanitra's Republican peer in the Assembly, Greg Myhre (NJ-9),

"We are a nation of laws," Myhre said. "These laws should be enforced. We must support federal immigration law and restore the value of citizenship."

"Politicians call them undocumented," he added. "But these people have documents – often deportation orders and arrest warrants."

'THINGS ARE NOT NORMAL'

Several New Jersey teachers said the fallout from the federal government's ongoing immigration crackdown is having an impact on their students.

"When my students hear that ICE is in the area, they can't concentrate on their work," said Liam Paiva-Acosta, a high school social studies teacher in East Orange.

"Some of them will skip school in fear of being caught up in it, even though they all have legal status in the United States," Paiva-Acosta said. "They fear being racially profiled and treated with brutality."

Terry Fitzgibbons, a history teacher at the Passaic Academy for Science and Engineering, said several local families have been affected by deportations in the school and district. Some students are missing weeks of course work because of what their families are experiencing, he added.

"Things are not normal," Fitzgibbons said.

Even students at private high schools – some located in communities that enjoy "relative financial and social stability" – are feeling the impact of ICE raids, said Sue Kenney, a 12th grade teacher at Immaculate Heart Academy in the Township of Washington.

"Some of them have parents who have lived and worked legally in this country for decades, yet they still worry that one day those parents, or their friends' parents, could be taken," Kenney said. "No young person should have to live with that fear."

That fear is also being felt in New Jersey's colleges and universities, some professors say.

"When students ask me what would happen if ICE showed up at Rutgers University-Newark where I teach, I assure them that they'll be safe – but I don't know that for sure," said Mary Rizzo, an associate professor at the school.

"Many of our Rutgers-Newark students are undocumented or have undocumented family members," Rizzo said. "I regularly hear from them that they have to miss class so they can go or accompany a relative to an immigration hearing or other immigration appointment. The stress of possibly having their families torn apart compounds the fact that they have to miss classes that they're paying for, making it harder for them to graduate on time and putting them deeper in debt."

• See Related:

The Immigrant Trust Act is among a flurry of bills that are being considered in the final days of 2025.

Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill is set to take the reins from Gov. Phil Murphy in January. Until then, Murphy and other outgoing lawmakers in Trenton will continue to hold power during a period known as the "lame duck" session.

• See Related:

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Learn more about advertising on Patch