Dear Neighbor,

It has been quite a month so far in the 12th District and around the country. Read below to see my thoughts on recent events. 

ICE Raid in Trenton
On Thursday, several vehicles with uniformed ICE and HSI agents arrived at a home on Bayard Street having stopped a van residents were using to travel to work and detained a rider. The agents attempted to use threats of the detainee’s status to gain entry to a nearby home. They did not have a warrant for those in the home and left the scene with the detainee when their application for a warrant was rejected by a federal judge. 

Later that morning, I spoke to residents who had gathered at the scene to support the detainee and his family. I told them, “We have the right to be treated as human beings. We have the right to have law enforcement conduct its responsibilities appropriately and legally. When they don’t, it is citizens like you that hold them accountable. You and I, we all want people who commit crimes off the streets, so ICE needs to get about its business and take care of the dangerous, and leave those who simply want to work and live and worship and leave that part of the community alone.”

Gerrymandering to Rig Elections
Donald Trump and House Republicans, along with Republican governors and their state legislatures, are systematically trying to rig the mid-term elections to hold onto power. They are redrawing already gerrymandered electoral maps that they drew just three years ago, in order to hold on to power after passing very unpopular legislation. 

There is hardly a concept more fundamental to American democracy than the notion that voters choose who represents them. But Trump and State-level Republicans don’t want voters to choose their representatives; they want politicians to choose their voters.

We should be clear: the seats they are targeting are held by Black and brown representatives – and consist of Black and brown communities.

I won’t mince words: this is a racist attack on minority representation. Every attempt at suppressing the vote over the last 150 years has been expressly to limit the political power of minorities.

Rather than pass policies that appeal to the public, Republican leadership has chosen to change the rules of the game. You’ve got to ask yourself — if the terrible bills like the One Big Beautiful Bill - or as I like to call it, the One Big Billionaire Bailout -  were what people wanted, would Republicans need to rig the maps in the first place?

Our Office is Here for You.
I may not be in Washington during the month of August, but that doesn't mean my team and I are not working for you. If you need assistance with a federal agency please reach out to my District Office at (609) 883-0026 or on our website here.

As always, if you would like to share your opinion on legislation or share with me how you feel about the work I'm doing, my DC office is available to take your call at (202) 225-5801 or you can message us here.