In a demonstration demanding more funds for undocumented immigrants in the state, protesters blocked a section of the New Jersey Turnpike for about 10 minutes Monday, slowing traffic during the evening commute.
A caravan of vehicles waving red flags stopped around 5:45 p.m. along the Turnpike’s northbound car lanes between Exits 12 and 13. Video footage from the scene showed people holding signs on the road and stopped traffic before state troopers arrived and ordered them back to their cars.
New Jersey State Police confirmed the cars left without incident after drivers were sent back to their vehicles. Some residual traffic slowed the Turnpike for about 30 minutes.
“When troopers arrived, the vehicles had already departed the scene and traffic was moving. There was no State Police interaction with the motorists,” State Police spokesman Sgt. First Class Lawrence Peele said.
The group gathered at the Grover Cleveland Service Area in Middlesex County before heading out northbound on the highway around 5:15 p.m. The caravan was organized by Y Nosotros Que, a grassroots coalition of undocumented immigrants, excluded workers and immigrant advocates, along with other national groups like Cosecha Movement and National Day Laborer Organizing Network.
Gov. Phil Murphy last month announced $40 million would be allocated for undocumented immigrants and others who were unable to access pandemic economic relief funds. That pot of money, funded by the federal CARES Act, hasn’t been distributed yet.
Advocates argue the money will benefit less than 10% of the state’s 460,000 undocumented immigrants, who can claim a maximum of $2,000 per household if eligible. They’ve continued pressing the Legislature and Murphy, a self-declared progressive Democrat, for more funds — as much as $989 million to help all undocumented residents.
And although the Latino Legislative Caucus tried to appropriate some money in the budget for immigrant groups, there are no extra funds set aside for undocumented workers in the budget passed by the state Legislature. Murphy is expected to sign it Tuesday.
“We want the governor to know that we won’t just sit down with our arms crossed while he keeps giving money to other people. We’re going to keep demanding the money we deserve,” said Reynalda Cruz, an organizer with New Labor who participated in the protest, in an interview translated from Spanish.
Protestors at the Grover Cleveland Service Area prepare cars for protest over workers excluded from Covid relief, in Sewaren, N.J. June, 28, 2021 Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
When she heard Murphy was considering a $40 million fund for undocumented immigrants, she said she was happy to see a good first step. But when more money wasn’t announced, she became disappointed, she said.
She said many of New Labor’s 4,000 members, mostly comprised of undocumented immigrants, took severe financial hits during the coronavirus pandemic. Members would come to the New Brunswick office asking for money for medicine and food, she added.
“We thought he’d put more money because he was always saying how worried he was about essential workers and his immigrant brothers and sisters,” she said. “But what about us?”
She also pointed to her own experience — working full time in a hotel before the pandemic, but when her shifts were cut to 20 hours a week, she lost her health insurance. She had no recourse, she said, and fell behind on her rent and car payments.
While the governor has previously said there is not enough money for funds to be put aside for undocumented communities, immigrant rights groups have pointed to New Jersey’s $10 billion surplus — and New York’s $2.1 billion carveout in its budget for excluded workers. Washington and California have also created pools of money for undocumented immigrants.
“The Excluded New Jerseyans fund, which will be administered by the state Department of Human Services, will begin accepting applications by early fall and is aiming to disburse funds shortly thereafter,” said Alyana Alfaro, a spokeswoman for the governor’s office.
Alfardo declined to comment on the protest.
The caravan is an escalation from prior demonstrations — camp outs at the Statehouse in Trenton, rallies during Murphy’s daily coronavirus briefings, and a 24-day hunger strike — that is also growing in popularity across the country during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’m insulted that he calls himself progressive,” said Trissy Aormazabal, an undocumented resident who came to New Jersey from Chile in 2018. “He has $6 billion in federal funds, so he doesn’t have anymore excuses.”
She said she suffered greatly during the first wave of the pandemic — she and her husband lost their jobs during the major shutdown, and she found out she was pregnant in May. For eight months, they asked for help from community organization like Unidad Latina Acción NJ, which helped provide some money for medication.
She said the money from the $40 million fund will barely be enough to help her and her husband, who are two months behind on rent, and need to put food on the table for their 4-month-old baby and 4-year-old daughter.
“We see the decisions he’s making will keep benefitting companies rather than communities that keep the pulse of New Jersey going,” Aormazabal said of the budget process.
“After today, he knows people are talking. The governor knows we are here and want more money,” Aormazabal added. “We’re going to keep pressing and fighting. He’ll hear the community.”
Protests on New Jersey’s major toll roads are rare.
Most recently, a convoy of Trump supporters blocked the Garden State Parkway ahead of the 2020 election. Dozens of cars blocked three express lanes and the shoulder near Cheesequake State Park.
And in 1971, a massive caravan of 1,000 antiwar demonstrators blocked all six lanes of the Turnpike when they returned from Washington D.C. More than 100 drivers were arrested, and 13 cars were towed to the Mount Laurel barracks.
NJ Advance Media staff writer Brent Johnson contributed to this report.
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Sophie Nieto-Munoz may be reached at snietomunoz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her at @snietomunoz.
Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com
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