A state’s budget reflects its values and priorities. Funding can create real, tangible impacts for communities that change lives for the better.
New Jerseyans have been clear that they want lawmakers to champion racial and social justice, and to truly invest in the equity, safety, and well-being of our communities in order to build a stronger New Jersey for everyone who calls our state home.
Several key budget items with justice at the center – including increasing funding for the Detention and Deportation Defense Initiative, fully funding the Housing Justice Project, and continuing to reinvest in communities harmed by marijuana criminalization – must top the agenda.
We need to make our voices heard and tell our lawmakers how urgently we need a budget that puts justice at the center.
Legal Representation of Detained Immigrants
New Jersey’s system of legal representation for detained immigrants facing deportation is one of the most vital programs in our state, particularly at a time when ICE enforcement and detention is increasingly terrorizing in our communities.
The Detention and Deportation Defense Initiative (DDDI) has provided much-needed legal representation to hundreds of low-income detained people who are routinely denied access to due process within the federal immigration system. It is essential to ensure universal representation for those who are detained.
Without the legal representation provided by DDDI, New Jerseyans are forced to go up against the federal government alone in their immigration proceedings. It is a system designed for individuals to fail.
Yet at current funding levels – and given the quadrupling of detention capacity in New Jersey – DDDI is only able to offer full representation to 18 percent of those seeking assistance. This figure will decrease further as more immigration detention facilities open, including planned facilities in Roxbury and at the Fort Dix military base.
Gov. Sherrill and the Legislature must increase funding for DDDI to $20 million to meet the increased demand for and cost of legal services, though full funding in the current environment requires more than $50 million.
And yet even with this much-needed growth, it is still just a fraction of the change needed to protect immigrant communities. There is more support and investment we must provide to work toward true equity and justice.
Housing Assistance to Prevent Evictions and Provide Legal Help
All New Jerseyans, regardless of their circumstances or background, deserve access to safe and stable housing.
Equal access to housing should be a fundamental right, but systemic racism and discriminatory lending practices have long kept communities of color and low-income communities from accessing fair housing opportunities.
Gov. Sherrill and the Legislature must ensure that New Jerseyans facing eviction have access to counsel by funding law schools to continue to represent tenants facing eviction, shape housing justice in New Jersey, and educate the next generation of attorneys.
They can support these goals by fully funding the Housing Justice Project with $2.5 million, a portion of which will be used to reinstate funding for the Rutgers-Camden program denied funding in FY26.
Housing affordability was a core promise of the Sherrill campaign and a key value of the Governor’s new administration. To truly live up to the promises made, Gov. Sherrill must invest in housing assistance and representation.
Reinvestment of Cannabis Revenue in Communities Harmed by Marijuana Criminalization
To build up communities harmed by marijuana criminalization, New Jerseyans need investments toward essential functions and services that help communities grow and thrive.
Communities have been emphatic about where revenue marked for social justice must go and where it must not go: no revenue designated for social justice should go to law enforcement, which bears the most responsibility for carrying out the racially discriminatory enforcement of prohibition.
Gov. Sherill and the Legislature must direct funding to reinvest in communities harmed by marijuana criminalization by ensuring community reinvestment dollars from cannabis revenue are used to fund social services, educational support, harm reduction, housing and food access, economic development, and other priorities determined by community members themselves.
Take Action for a Budget that Reflects Our Values
As we witness appalling abuses of power at the state and federal level from the Trump administration, it’s more important than ever to contact your lawmakers and tell them why they must put equity at the top of the budget. Tell New Jersey leaders: the Garden State needs a budget that supports New Jersey values.
When the most vulnerable among us can thrive, all of us are stronger.
