long-stalled Transportation projects could finally get a boost across the state Governor Murphy today unveiling New Jersey is slated to receive more than 425 million dollars from the Federal Highway Administration it's the largest pot of money ever given to the state from that agency the announcement was made in Long Branch where some of the money will help pay for a pedestrian tunnel under the north Jersey coastline train tracks which will connect the downtown business district with local neighborhoods but the good news comes as the governor faces criticism from immigration Advocates who argue he's being hypocritical in his stance against a recent White House proposal to move Asylum seekers in New York City to the Atlantic City International Airport senior political correspondent David Cruz reports no state has done more for our immigrant population in the past six years than New Jersey governor Phil Murphy is still ticked off at the suggestion that he's somehow abandoning his Sanctuary state bonafides by rejecting the idea of Atlantic City Airport being a site to house the Overflow of migrants from New York City that's everything from driver's license for folks regardless of status it's in-state tuition and financial aid for our dreamers it's the way we speak the way we embrace it's the efforts that we put forward in accepting the Afghan refugees by the way no State accepted more Afghan refugees than New Jersey number one number two shame on Congress and shame on countless administrations for not having solved the immigration crisis amen says everyone associated with immigration and immigration adjacent policy in this political season the rhetoric is hot and decided to be blunt as expressed by officials Democrats and Republicans at a press conference here last week every time an American citizen has to go to the hospital and has to away because there are non-american citizens are in in front of them every time that they go to the grocery store and we have to pay more because it's inflation situation has been exacerbated by what is going on with all of these people coming in and all the resources they need and all the money that they're spending the fact is that especially in South Jersey that kind of talk resonates especially at this time of year but it's dangerous not to mention insulting say immigrants rights Advocates I'm here today to talk phobic anti-immigrant rhetoric witnessed here last Friday morning hate speech can lead to violence but in politics hot takes are what hits with the bases and the left wants to hear some full-throated sea SE puede rhetoric from Democrats on this issue too Amy Torres is with the New Jersey Alliance for immigrant Justice she gives Murphy credit for his pro-immigrant policies and acknowledges that a lot of times the details of immigration policy get lost in the demonizing we often hear from detractors that their families came here the right way and we'll hear people tell stories about coming through Ellis Island and doing things the legal way but we need to remind ourselves that those legal Pathways that extended to your grandma your great-grandfather whoever it may have been in your lineage those do not exist anymore the minute you try to come to the middle and say wait a minute we really got this sprung on us and this isn't working out so well in other parts of the country and we really need to think about what resources we have the minute you start to do that um some in your Progressive base may say um we don't we don't like that you were doing that you know you've said all along you're going to be a sanctuary State and you're going to be a sanctuary governor and what happened to that so Nuance be damned when it comes to hot button issues and this one where the subjects can't vote is making strange bedfellows of Phil Murphy a Democratic governor and Jeff Van drew a conservative Congressman just months before an election in which neither of them is standing for office I'm David Cruz NJ Spotlight news [Music]