'This system wasn’t built by Trump'

Good morning!

I’m off today so let’s get right to it 👇.

Immigration: Sophie Nieto-Muñoz today has the third in her three-part series examining New Jersey’s immigrant communities under President Trump’s mass deportation effort, with this story focusing on the advocates, faith leaders, and others aiding immigrants as they feel under siege. One is Kathy O’Leary with Pax Christi, who has been helping families outside Newark’s Delaney Hall migrant jail since before most people even knew what it was. “This system wasn’t built by Trump. You can trace it back to at least Clinton. All the Democrats have lined up almost as quickly as Republicans to give more money to ICE over all these years,” she told Sophie.

Governor: Gov. Mikie Sherrill spoke to reporters Wednesday night for the first time since news broke that Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell is under investigation for alleged inappropriate conduct with women. Sherrill would neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation, so there’s nothing really different now than before she spoke. I asked Sherrill whether she is confident that Caldwell, who, as secretary of state oversees our elections, and his office are prepared for the election in 55 days, considering he might be a tad distracted by the internal investigation that could cost him his job and reputation. Here’s some of what she said:

“We have been working around the clock to make sure that our elections are ready to go, that they are fair and safe, and so that has involved ensuring that we have cleared people off the ballots that should not be on the ballots, ensuring that we're not taking anyone off the ballots that should be on them. We're continuing to make sure that our counties are ready to go. We're checking in with them. And, yes, we're doing everything we can as a state, and certainly the secretary of state's office, to run a fair election. What we are still contending with is constant attacks and threats of chaos from the federal government.”

Commentary: Alejandro J. Ramos writes about the extraordinary opportunity and responsibility now in the hands of Montclair State University, the new operator of NJ PBS: “A public university is hardly a neutral observer in New Jersey politics. Its leadership deals with state appropriations, elected officials, unions, employees, students, donors, and competing public interests. Universities experience protests, personnel controversies, budget disputes, and questions about how public money is spent. Eventually, one of those stories will involve Montclair State. When that day comes, the real test of this arrangement will begin.”

Sussex: The county prosecutor in Sussex County announced Wednesday it charged Pennsylvania attorney Karl Heideck with cyber-harassment and accused him of sending rancid emails to an unnamed public official that reference the official’s daughters. Conservative commenter Matt Rooney said the official is Jill Space, who heads the Sussex commissioner board and is married to state Sen. Parker Space. Space’s board only days before adopted a resolution opposing New Jersey’s sanctuary policies for immigrants.

D.C.: The Trump administration is moving to exclude noncitizens from the 2030 census count, a move that would put lots of federal aid in jeopardy for states with large populations of undocumented immigrants. This change, obviously, is likely to face a legal challenge.