NJ lawmaker announces illegal immigration report, research trip to southern border

TRENTON, N.J. – In a video released Friday, Assemblyman Paul Kanitra promises to provide New Jersey residents with a comprehensive illegal immigration report following his research trip to the southern border with the Center for Immigration Studies.

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“Our sanctuary state policies have created an apocalyptic environment that has enticed far too many to break our nation’s laws in order to receive the free benefits being doled out left and right. Our report will break down the various areas where billions of our tax dollars go every single year and more importantly, it will break down the everyday implications for you and your family,” Kanitra (R-Ocean) announced from outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Elizabeth.

His district office is compiling information from state, federal and nonprofit sources that will be used to inform legislation and propose executive actions to address illegal immigration in New Jersey.

According to the American Immigration Council, there are at least 478,000 undocumented immigrants living in New Jersey, while the Federation for American Immigration Reform estimates the number to be closer to 700,000.

“Our state actively ties the hands of law enforcement from detaining and deporting those illegals who commit a wide array of ever-increasing crimes. This must stop,” he said.

In 2018, the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General issued a directive effectively ending state, county, and local law enforcement’s interactions with ICE.

Nationally, ICE officials removed more than 3,400 suspected gang members last year, an increase of 27.7% from the previous year, and 148 suspected terrorists, a nearly 150% increase year-over-year. More than 40% of illegal immigrants arrested by ICE had criminal convictions or pending criminal charges for serious offenses including assault (33,209), burglary (6,964), sexual assault (4,390), homicide (1,713) and kidnapping (1,655).

In addition to the report, Kanitra said he is personally paying for an academic research trip to the southern border next week to meet with Texas border czar Mike Banks, Val Verde County Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez, journalists, local landowners, legal experts and others.

“To what extent it’s possible, I’ll be providing updates during the trip. When I return, we’ll finalize our recommendation and we’ll release the report,” he said.

A recent Monmouth University poll shows more than 8 in 10 Americans see illegal immigration as either a very serious (61%) or somewhat serious (23%) problem and a majority (53%) supports building a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.