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Christie clarifies: 'Illegal' immigrants are in civil violation by Brian Donohue/ Star-Ledger staff Tuesday April 29, 2008, 12:03 PM The office of U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie on Monday issued a statement addressing criticism of remarks he made regarding illegal immigration at a church forum in Dover Sunday. In response to a question from an audience member, Christie said that immigrants are not committing a crime by being in the country illegally.Monday, Christie said that while entering the country illegally is considered a federal misdemeanor, simply lacking legal immigration status is a civil violation.

Immigrants and their advocates today found an unlikely ally: the top law enforcement officer in New Jersey. "Being in this country without proper documentation is not a crime," Christie told more than 60 residents and town officials. "The whole phrase of 'illegal immigrant' connotes that the person, by just being here, is committing a crime." Being undocumented may be a civil wrong, but it's not a criminal act, Christie said. "Don't let people make you believe that that's a crime that the U.S. Attorney's Office should be doing something about," he added of entering the country illegally. "It is not."...

A Gannett New Jersey study finds the number of government employees with two or more public jobs that paid more than $100,000 together swelled by 20 percent last year. Those multiple job holders had a collective salary of $107.8 million. My colleague James W. Prado Roberts reports there were 6,271 multiple job holders including one woman who had 12 jobs. Sen. Stephen Sweeney asks "Is it really right for part-time workers to be in the pension system?" Does the question really have to be asked? To take a look at the double-dippers click here.... http://php.app.com/NJpublicemployees/results2.php

New Jersey is a leading liberal state By Adrienne Lu Inquirer Trenton Bureau Paid family leave. The abolition of the death penalty. An apology for slavery. Any way you look at it, New Jersey appears to be forging a new path for liberal public policy-making nationwide. "What New Jersey has enacted into law, I think, puts us in the forefront of states," said Ingrid Reed, director of the New Jersey Project at Rutgers University's Eagleton Institute of Politics. The evidence seems to grow every day. The Garden State is one of only a handful to recognize civil unions for gay...

Democrats find a strange way to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King With Martin Luther King Day upon us, it's nice to see New Jersey's Democrats honoring tradition. By which I mean the tradition of Democratic elected officials blatantly violating the civil rights of those who disagree with them. That was a common tactic of the Democrats in the Deep South almost half a century ago..."They were stopped by the police," said Porreca. "The police said, 'This is private property. You cannot distribute pamphlets. You cannot carry signs on this property. "It was very, very scary, very intimidating. Some of these...

In a media conference call this afternoon with Gov. Jon Corzine and Gov. Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, Sen. Hillary Clinton said the country needs a president who holds the American economy accountable. "I'm hearing from people who lost their jobs in construction or even in the casinos," said Clinton, in a double nod to Nevada - where she's campaigning in advance of the Jan. 19th primary there - and New Jersey. Corzine hailed Clinton's economic stimulus package as a strong reason, in his view, to support the Democratic presidential candidate. "The program you have put down makes sense for someone...

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - New Jersey on Sunday became the second state to enter a compact that would eliminate the Electoral College's power to choose a president if enough states endorse the idea. Gov. Jon S. Corzine signed legislation that approves delivering the state's 15 electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote. The Assembly approved the bill last month and the Senate followed suit earlier this month. Maryland - with 10 electoral votes - had been the only state to pass the compact into law.

TRENTON, N.J. — The New Jersey Assembly approved legislation Thursday to abolish the state's death penalty, making Gov. Jon S. Corzine's signature the only step left before the state becomes the first in four decades to ban executions. Assembly members voted 44-36 to replace the death sentence with life in prison without parole. The state Senate approved the bill Monday. Corzine, a Democrat, has said he will sign the bill within a week. The measure would spare eight men on the state's death row, including the sex offender whose crimes sparked Megan's Law. A special state commission found in January...

TRENTON, Dec. 10 — The New Jersey Senate voted Monday to make the state the first in the country to repeal the death penalty since 1976, when the United States Supreme Court set guidelines for the nation’s current system of capital punishment. Approval in the Senate was seen as the biggest obstacle to the repeal, and in the end, it passed 21 to 16, receiving the bare minimum number of votes required in the 40-seat chamber. Three senators did not vote.Legislators on both sides of the debate said they expected the measure to pass easily on Thursday in the General...

Even New Jerseyans can't stand living in New Jersey, according to a new poll that said nearly half of adults residing in the Garden State want to pull up stakes. The Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll, released Wednesday, found 49 percent of those polled would rather live somewhere else. New Jersey already is suffering from an image problem and bears the brunt of jokes because of its corruption and pollution problems. But 58 percent of those residents polled said the heavy financial burden of just living in the state is no laughing matter, and that's why they want to leave....

Oct-15-07 Governor Corzine Announces Recommendations by the Working Group on Latino Affairs NEWS RELEASE Governor Jon S. Corzine October 15, 2007 FOR MORE INFORMATION: Press Office 609-777-2600 GOVERNOR CORZINE ANNOUNCES RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE WORKING GROUP ON LATINO AFFAIRS The group was established with the mandate to recommend the most efficient ways to deliver services to the New Jersey Latino community PRINCETON - Governor Jon S. Corzine today made public the recommendations presented by the Governor’s Working Group on Latino Affairs during a gathering at Drumthwacket in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. “Furthering the progress of New Jersey's Hispanic community through...

The perfect liberal dream! "Now that summer is over, things are really heating up here in New Jersey – The Garden State! November is rapidly approaching and a $450 million stem cell bond question will be on the ballot for us to answer “Yes” or “No.” The question does not inform voters on what stem cell research will be performed. As we all know adult stem cells are highly successful – and do not require millions of dollars since they can be derived from bone marrow, umbilical chord blood and even from skin etc. However, this is not the type...

I received a notice yesterday from the State of New Jersey, Office of the Attorney General, Department of Law and Public Law and Safety, Division of Elections The letter said: Dear Voter: A review of the statewiud voter registration system indicates that your date of birth is missing from your registration record. Please be advised that a missing date of birth will not affect your right to vote. However, we need this missing information to assure that your records are correct and properly maintained. Please provide your date of birth on the line below and mail this letter back in...

MONTGOMERY, N.J. - Barbara Lehman has lived in this central New Jersey community for 30 years, but her time here is nearing an end. She sent her children through Montgomery's well-regarded schools. And she enjoys the rolling landscape even as housing developments have spread across it in recent years. But her property taxes have climbed 56 percent since 2000 to a knee-buckling $14,000 a year — a heavy load for a high school French teacher whose salary goes up only about 3 percent a year. "Oh, it's terrible," Lehman said. Despite efforts by governors and lawmakers to do something about...