New Jersey
More than 1.4 million Hispanics live in New Jersey, many of them Puerto Rican, Dominican, or Cuban. But historically, New Jersey's Latino population has been mostly Puerto Rican and, like many settled communities in the Northeast, is growing and diversifying with the addition of newly arrived Mexicans, Central Americans, and other immigrants. New Jersey also shares a larger share (37%) of newly naturalized Hispanics voters than the national average. Due to this dynamic combination of an emerging immigrant community and a civically engaged Puerto Rican community, Democracia U.S.A. has been engaging New Jersey voters throughout the state. Democracia U.S.A. has made a commitment to engage Latinos in New Jersey given that they constitute 10% of the state’s electorate. New Jersey Latinos face many challenges, one being high school drop-out rates—24% of Latino eligible voters have not completed their high education. On the immigration front, the town of Riverside in central New Jersey quietly voted in September 2007 to rescind a nationally infamous law that made it illegal to rent or hire illegal immigrants. The economic repercussions of ostracizing immigrants were too high a price. Months after the original anti-immigrant ordinance was passed, the town’s population dropped significantly turning the town into a virtual ghost town and suffering immediate economic setbacks. The history of the Riverside ordinance is a testament to the economic contributions of the Latino immigrant.
Democracia U.S.A.New Jersey
5507 Westfield Avenue, 2nd floor
Pennsauken, NJ 08110
Phone: 856-661-9192
Fax: 856-661-9196
Contact: Maria Falu
E-mail: mfalu@democraciausa.org
