Montclair senior Rabbi Elliott Tepperman was among six New Jersey clergy and immigrant rights leaders yesterday to risk arrest to stand up for a clean Dream Act and ask Congressman Leonard Lance (R-7) to stand by his December commitment to a pathway to citizenship for DREAMers.
Tepperman and five other clergy and immigrant leaders were arrested in an act of civil disobedience at Lance’s office in Westfield, NJ. as 100 DREAMers, clergy and supporters demanded Lance keep his promise to extend a pathway to citizenship for immigrant youth without criminalizing immigrant families or militarizing the border.
Yesterday’s protest is one of a series of actions this week collaboratively organized by Immigrant rights group Make the Road-NJ of Elizabeth, Faith in New Jersey, Wind of the Spirit, SEIU 32BJ, Bend the Arc, RWDSU, New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice and the Jewish Labor Committee, as the future of the DREAM Act becomes more precarious with the next budget deadline on February 8th.
“Not only do we need to hold these elected officials accountable but [we need] to defend the very soul of this nation, to demand that we land on the right side of history — on the side of justice, dignity and respect for all our communities,” said Make the Road-NJ organizer Nedia Morsy.
With every passing day, 122 DREAMers lose their status each day because of President Donald Trump’s decision to end DACA. Protesters urged New Jerseyans to call their members of Congress at 202-224-3121, and demand a clean DREAM Act now.