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HDANJ executive director Daniel Santo Pietro was quoted in an article regarding the special needs RFP appeal.

"The decision by the Department of Human Services is flawed on multiple levels," said Daniel Santo Pietro, the association's executive director. "For one, the Latino population is the fastest-growing community throughout the state, and coverage of all areas of New Jersey is crucial."

- The Daily Record, December 23, 2007. To read the full article, click here.

"What would it cost to do this with high standards?" asked Daniel Santo Pietro, executive director of the Hispanic Directors Association. He was quoted in a Herald News article on preschool funding in New Jersey.

- Herald News, December, 11, 2007. To read the full article, click here.

"We welcome these guidelines, but we have concerns," said Martin Perez, president of the alliance. "We understand the attorney general has good intentions but we have to make sure there's a mechanism to make changes in the guidelines.

- The Home News Tribune, September 9, 2007. To read full article, click here.


"Our concern is that within the context of the directive there's obviously a lot of leeway as to how this could be treated," said Frank Argote-Freyre, policy adviser for the New Brunswick-based Hispanic Directors Association and a member of the executive committee of the Latino Leadership Alliance. "So one concern we have is municipalities with contentious relationships will use their police departments to ask this question more frequently, when it may not be appropriate.

"I think the directive does some positive things, but if municipalities are not clearly versed in the subtleties of it, it could lead to abuse of immigrants," he said. "We're particularly fearful of that in places that have a long, tense history with their immigrant population."

"With some of the lesser crimes it's a matter of interpretation whether or not you raise (the charge) to an indictable offense," Argote-Freyre said, citing the example of two drunks arguing outside a bar. "That could be a disorderly person offense, but on the other hand it could also be aggravated assault — which is an indictable offense. So there's a great deal of discretion and leeway that police have in criminal cases."

- The Home News Tribune, August 26, 2007. To read full article, click here.

"My center in Camden sees a lot of immigrants coming in on a daily basis. We serve about 7,000 individuals a year and many of them are immigrants," said Elsa Candelario, executive director of the Hispanic Family Center of Southern New Jersey in Camden.

"I'm pleased Governor Corzine thinks it's time to pull together a group with these resources that will focus explicitly on immigration," she said. To read full article, click here.

"What I don't want is a panel that will produce a report and not do anything more," said Daniel Santo-Pietro, executive director of the Hispanic Directors Association of New Jersey. "The state needs to take steps that fill gaps and that will make things better for immigrants."
–The Bergen Record, August 3, 2007. To read full article, click here. 

“These raids are done in front of children, who see their parents handcuffed and taken away, “said Daniel Santo Pietro, head of the Hispanic Directors Association of New Jersey.  “Most of these people are not criminals; they’re people who tried to legalize their status and either because their lawyers didn’t do something right,. Or they were misguided by one of the many scammers who take advantage of immigrants, had their applications denied and were ordered deported.”… “The majority are not the criminals and terrorists that ICE says they‘re targeting with these raids... they’re laborers, hardworking people.”
–The Bergen Record, June 5, 2007.


“It’s really a take of two cities, to quote Dickens,” said Frank Argote-Freyre, a Kean University professor. “Here in Hightstown, Mayor (Robert) Patten has embraced the Latino community. In Morristown, Mayor (Donald) Cresitello has taken a different approach.”

“America has to deal with the fact that immigrants are not going to go away, no matter how many fences you build and families you destroy,” said Patricia Fernandez-Kelly, a Princeton University professor and chair of the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund. “If not for immigrants, this country wouldn’t have enough people to fill jobs.”

–The Times of Trenton, May 3, 2007.

“This complicated problem should not be addressed piecemeal at the local level,” said Brendan Gilfillan, a spokesman for the governor. “This effort to deputize police to enforce federal immigration laws is not comprehensive immigration reform and, by undermining the critical trust communities must have with law enforcement, will actually hinder our law enforcement.”

“I believe in fairness for everybody,” said Hightstown Mayor Robert Patten. “I carried it to the political arena.”

Daniel Santo Pietro, executive director of HDA, said Cresitello uses “distortion to support his position.”

“The fact is they are doing a very arbitrary job…and it’s destroying families,” he said.

 –Daily Record, May 3, 2007


“If there was strong state leadership and strong state guidance, that would short-circuit a lot of these mayoral actions,” said Daniel Santo Pietro, the Hispanic Directors Association’s executive director.
–The Herald News, May 3, 2007.