As Donald Trump spends his first week in office issuing executive orders (imperial edicts?) of dubious legal standing and without input from experienced government personnel, Democrats are pushing back.
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On Wednesday, Trump’s orders targeted immigrants, calling for building his famous Mexican border wall (at US taxpayer expense and resulting in Mexico’s president cancelling a visit to the US); cutting off federal funds to “sanctuary cities,” (those that do not use local police to enforce Federal immigration policy), close of the US to Syrian war refugees, and restrict immigration from certain Muslim-majority countries.
Also on Wednesday, several prominent NJ Democrats spoke out against what U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez called a “terrible and ugly decision by a president who is more concerned with right-wing fringe movements than doing what’s right for all of America, for the economy, and for the future of this country…it is clear to me that President Trump simply does not comprehend the full magnitude or the real human cost of this decision.”
Other Democrats speaking out included:
Newark mayor Ras Baraka: “Our city has a policy of protecting undocumented immigrants from deportation by U.S. immigration authorities. We see no reason to change that policy.”
Union City (95 percent Hispanic) Mayor Brian Stack: “I will not support any policy that will hinder economic growth and rip families apart.”
U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone: “I am confident that the people of New Jersey will not accept being targeted by their own President, and I look forward to standing with them every step of the way.”
U.S. Rep Albio Sires (D-6): “So called ‘sanctuary cities’ exist so people living in these communities can come out of the shadows to report crimes in their neighborhoods and cooperate with law enforcement officials. Removing funding from these cities only makes it harder for cops to do their jobs, putting more people at risk.”
In contrast, Republicans such as state senators Joe Pennacchio (District 26) and Mike Doherty (District 23) have championed the president’s plans, with Doherty calling them “long overdue.”