(theme music) From NJ PBS Studios, this is NJ Spotlight News with Brianna Vannozzi.

Hello and thanks for joining us tonight.

I'm Joanna Gagis and for Brianna Vannozzi.

A few stories we'll get into later in the broadcast.

First immigration attorneys are struggling to keep up with the rise of ice arrests in New Jersey.

Then the state could lose federal funding for snap administrative costs that help get food to the hungry.

What does that mean for recipients.

And the job market in New Jersey is looking bleak.

Here what economists have to say about a possible recession.

But first could offshore wind projects launch again in New Jersey.

It's possible after a Massachusetts federal judge ruled on Monday that the Trump administration's order to cancel all wind farm projects on federal land and water was "arbitrary and capricious" and violated federal law.

The president signed the executive order on day one of his second term, putting a chilling effect on an industry already struggling to get going in New Jersey.

Advocates say the court ruling is a huge win for clean energy, but there are many opposed to it in the state, including residents in coastal towns who don't want wind turbines off the shoreline, and Republicans who blame Murphy administration's reliance on a wind industry that never took off as the reason for the spiking energy costs today.

A spokesperson for the Murphy administration praised the ruling, saying, quote, "We must keep fighting for this vital clean energy resource, which would lower electricity costs for families and businesses."

Governor-elect Mikey Sherrill has put her focus on solar energy.

And while the ruling could allow wind projects to start up again, the Trump administration could also appeal the ruling, leaving those projects in limbo.

Marty Small, who just won re-election in November, is in court this week facing charges of abusing his teenage daughter.

His wife, Laquetta Small, who is the superintendent of schools in Atlantic City, is also charged, although her trial starts in January.

Allegations against the parents include physical and emotional abuse of their then 16-year-old daughter in 2024.

Mayor Small is accused of repeatedly punching her in the legs and on one occasion, beating her with a broomstick until she fell unconscious.

Laquetta Small allegedly beat her daughter with a belt and dragged her by the hair.

The teen testified for about three hours today, detailing her accounts of those events.

The mayor's charges include endangering the welfare of a child, aggravated assault, and assaulting her with a knife.

She was also charged with assaulting her with a knife and beating her with a broomstick.

Both Marty and Laquetta Small have pled not guilty to the charges and in opening statements yesterday, his attorneys argued it was parental discipline of a rebellious daughter.

Also tonight, five years after the pandemic, New Jersey public schools are still struggling to close achievement gaps for students.

The latest standardized test scores show some improvements in math and English language arts or ELA.

But the scores still remain below 2019 test scores.

There is some good news though.

Student performance is up across nearly every grade and subject.

Just over 50 percent of students tested at or above grade level in ELA, about 42 percent in math, and 27 percent reached proficiency in science.

Now, that science score was actually higher than pre-pandemic levels for the first time.

Another challenge for educators, some of the widest achievement gaps between racial and income groups remain largely unchanged and stretch as much as 50 points.

State Education Commissioner Kevin Dahmer acknowledged the challenge during a recent board meeting and noted a list of strategies underway to tackle it.

This is the final year for the state's traditional testing format.

Starting this spring, students will move to a new computer-based adaptive test that's designed to better measure individual progress.

>> We're following up how immigration attorneys are responding to the spike in ICE arrests.

That's next.

>> Funding for NJ Spotlight News provided by the members of the New Jersey Education Association.

Making public schools great for every child.

And RWJBarnabas Health.

Let's be healthy together.

More than 5000 people have been arrested by ICE in New Jersey since the start of the second Trump term.

And the number of detainees at the immigration detention facility Delaney Hall in Newark has tripled up to more than 800 people from September to November.

Immigration attorneys are struggling to keep up as the nature of many of these detention cases has also changed over the last year.

Joining us now to explain what they're dealing with is Alexandra Gonsalves Pena, legal director of the New Jersey Immigrant Rights Program at American Friends Service Committee.

Alexandra great to have you with us tonight.

Just help us understand.

I know you represent individuals who are facing immigration battles in court.

How have these cases changed in the last year?

Absolutely.

And thank you so much for having me on to discuss this very, very important issue.

So as a result of efforts by the recent administration to deprive noncitizens of due process through the use of mandatory detention and limited access to asylum, we have seen the variety of cases that we have managed change dramatically.

As a result, many of my colleagues on the team here at American Friends Service Committee have had to pivot dramatically, relying more on federal courts than we ever did before, unfortunately, due to the myriad changes that we have seen through this administration.

When you say, I'm going to stop you right there.

When you say relying on federal courts, what do you mean by that?

Absolutely.

So due to policy changes that the Trump administration has pushed through, which has essentially made it increasingly more difficult for non-citizens to be released from custody, it's expanding mandatory detention, which was something that traditionally was for a smaller group of individuals, and now expanding this dramatically, such that thousands more people are now subject to mandatory detention.

As a result of that, it is becoming increasingly more difficult, if not impossible, to get non-citizens actually out of detention.

And as a result, we have to go to federal courts, relying on our federal courts, filing, for example, writs of habeas corpus, which is a process by which we are asking the courts to release our clients, to release the non-citizens.

Many times we are succeeding.

Unfortunately, sometimes we are not succeeding.

But unfortunately, the reality is that the demand is quickly outpacing, as it has always outpaced, the ability for us to actually provide services to a large group.

Let me ask you this.

What do we know about the people being detained?

The Trump administration says that it wants to remove individuals who are threats to society.

What do we know about the percentage of individuals with a criminal record who are being detained in New Jersey right now?

Well, in New Jersey, I mean, as well as nationally, there are reports about the percentage being incredibly low.

I don't have exact numbers, unfortunately, but the percentage is very minimal.

And we're seeing that the vast majority of individuals in detention are individuals with absolutely no criminal history at all.

So that, you know, justification is absolutely untrue, incorrect.

And I think it's just part of the narrative that he keeps pushing to convince individuals that this is only targeting a select group of people when it is actually encompassing everybody, which is obviously having a deep impact.

It's impacting the individuals that are detained.

It's impacting their family members.

It's impacting, you know, when people are detained, they're unable to continue with their jobs.

It's impacting local businesses.

You know, this is having a, this goes beyond impacting just the immigrant community.

It affects everybody within the state of New Jersey.

- The data shows that an individual with legal representation is about 10 times, more than 10 times more likely to have their case resolved to win their case.

Are you able to keep up with the influx of detainees that we've seen just even in the last couple months?

Unfortunately, which is absolutely heartbreaking because we're seeing many individuals with viable claims for relief.

You know, the cases have become much more difficult.

Traditionally, even without all of these policy changes that have been pushed through by the Trump administration, immigration law has always been incredibly difficult.

It's incredibly nuanced.

You know, you have to have a certain level of skill to succeed in these cases.

Unfortunately, now, with all of these policy changes, it's making the work even more difficult.

And it's requiring all attorneys, not just from our team here at the FSC, to become nimble, to adjust to these changes, to learn new areas of law, to learn how to practice in other venues.

We're trying all that we can, and it's really incredible to see how wonderfully the legal services community is responding.

However, the reality of the matter is that we cannot keep up with the demand.

And it is so important now more than ever that we get commitment from the state, from the governor-elect, from our legislators to provide additional funding to ensure that we're able to meet the needs as best as possible.

And just the short amount of time that we have left, what can you tell us about the cases where there is no legal representation?

Do you know what percentage of individuals have been or are going to be deported?

Unfortunately, at least I don't have that exact percentage.

But from what we are seeing, just from going to the detention facilities, doing intakes, so many people are actually deciding to go back on their own, to take the removal order, to ask for a voluntary departure, which I think is the ultimate intention of the Trump administration, right, to get people removed from this country as quickly as possible.

And, you know, unfortunately, we're just seeing so many people decide to leave because they don't want to stay, you know, in these detention centers where, you know, there are -- the conditions are less than, you know, good, and they're having a lot of trouble.

All right, Alexandra Goncalves-Pena, that's all the time we have.

But thank you so much for your insight on this.

Thank you so much.

The federal government gave states a December 8th deadline to hand over personal information about its SNAP recipients or lose federal funding for the administrative costs.

New Jersey is one of 21 states that did not meet that deadline refusing to share info like immigration status with the Department of Agriculture.

The SNAP program feeds more than 800,000 food insecure people here in New Jersey, and without the federal administrative funding, the state could be at risk of not being able to administer the program.

New Jersey's Attorney General Matt Plotkin has joined a multi-state lawsuit arguing that the Trump administration is trying to remove qualified groups from the program, including asylum seekers, refugees, and legal permanent residents.

So what happens if those SNAP administrative funds stop flowing into the state?

Raven Santana takes a look.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP, is a lifeline for more than 800,000 New Jersey residents.

But now that safety net may be tied to a political showdown in Washington.

In February of this year we asked for all the states for the first time to turn over their data to the federal government to let the USDA partner with them to root out this fraud.

The Trump administration wants states to turn over personal data on SNAP recipients, including names and immigration status, saying it needs to combat what officials call rampant fraud.

Last week, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rowland said the federal government will begin withholding SNAP and Ministry to funding from states that refuse, New Jersey among them.

Twenty-one states said yes, not surprise, twenty-nine states said yes, not surprisingly, the red states, and that's where all of that data, that fraud comes from.

But twenty-one states, including California, New York, and Minnesota, the blue states, continue to say no.

So, as of next week, we have begun and will begin to stop moving federal funds into those states until they comply.

New Jersey is among the states refusing, arguing the federal government already has the necessary verification data and that this new demand targets immigrants, not fraud.

For SNAP recipient and mom Sharon Barton, this latest political fight over SNAP is adding to uncertainty about her benefits.

So, I'm disabled, right?

So, in order to prove that I'm disabled, I have to show my disability paperwork.

I have to show that I am indeed on SSI when I go to apply.

So, when they say prevent fraud, I don't know how they're going to do that because it's already being done.

So, which worries me because somebody's playing games in my opinion.

States and the federal government share the cost of running the program, but the federal government pays for benefits.

A spokesperson for New Jersey's Department of Human Services says the state has not received any official notice that SNAP funding will be withheld, but advocates warn even the threat can cause chaos for families.

Well first I'd like to say this has got nothing to do with fraud.

This is about vilifying people that the Trump administration does not want in this country.

Maura Collings-Grew of NJ Citizen Action says the real harm will land on families who depend on monthly deposits to buy groceries.

But imagine you're a mom with children and you're waiting in the beginning of the month to go to the store to purchase groceries to feed your family.

And because of something happening in Washington that does not need to happen, you are not able to do that.

What is your She adds that nonprofits can't make up for the los that that should and need a culture of fear.

We have and launching war on the our own communities and that is what needs to stop.

New Jersey Attorney General Matt Plotkin has joined a multi-state lawsuit arguing the administration is illegally denying benefits to eligible non-citizens, including refugees, asylum seekers, and legal permanent residents.

Plotkin called the federal threat "deeply immoral," saying, "The past few weeks have shown that the Trump administration is willing to sacrifice millions of Americans' most basic needs in service of a political agenda.

We will be looking closely at the federal government's next steps."

"I want to work.

I don't want to be like this.

I'm not asked, I never asked for any of this to happen.

Please."

It's still unclear if or when the administration will actually withhold funds from New Jersey, but state officials say they're ready for a legal and political fight to keep aid flowing.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Raven Santana.

Could New Jersey be on the brink of a recession?

Economists weigh in after the release of a jobs report that shows a less than inspiring labor market in the state.

Senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan takes a look at who's hiring, who's firing, and what the forecast looks like amid federal uncertainty.

Brenda, tell us about it.

Hey, Joanna.

So, Jersey's job market remains volatile, and as economic forecasters await updated federal employment numbers, they're seeing red flags in other data that suggest the state could be headed towards a possible recession next year.

Almost 100 New Jersey companies since January have filed major layoff warning notices with the state, adding up to 13,000 jobs gone this year and into 2026.

The latest is in finance, Barclays and Whippany, 80 layoffs and 58 at UBS and Weehawken.

Senior analyst Adam Kamenz at Moody's mentions that R-word, recession, when describing New Jersey's economy.

ADAM KAMENZ, Senior Analyst, Moody's: All of those different indicators suggest that New Jersey is struggling.

When you dig a little bit deeper, there's a few industries and a few sources of weakness there.

Probably the biggest would be the pharmaceutical industry, which has seen a number of layoffs.

You're seeing financial services struggling, the public sector struggling to hire.

All of that is putting New Jersey in a precarious spot, where it's not quite in recession yet, but it is dangerously close.

Now, recessions, a bad case scenario, and the latest survey by New Jersey's Business and Industry Association doesn't paint a rosy picture either.

Nineteen percent of companies polled reported decreased hiring this year, and only 12 percent plan to increase their rate of hiring next year.

The group's CEO, Michelle Sekirka, explains, citing T-words, Trump tariffs.

But tariffs threw everybody.

And the problem with it is the uncertainty once again.

We were changing the rules and the definitions each and every day, and we still haven't shook out.

So once this all shakes out and we know and we can kind of have our reset, people will be able to go forward.

But it absolutely had an impact.

People's supply chains, they had to shift and go source somewhere else.

And doing that, they got in overcrowded supply chains, which slowed down inventory.

And it's not just tariffs.

Sekirka warns New Jersey's corporate business tax revenues are down.

Energy costs are way up.

And only 30 percent of businesses polled by her association reported profits this year.

What's their overall economic outlook?

The survey says 16 percent expect better next year, but 84 percent the same or worse.

I think that it's more of a stable, sluggish go along.

I don't think that we're going to see us going in a more negative direction in terms of hiring, create job creation, etc.

But I think we're still fighting to create the new jobs.

I'm going to repeat, static is not good enough.

Static is not economic growth, Brenda.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Now, she says New Jersey remains resilient, a different R-word, as businesses await the president's promised reset of the nation's economy.

But the Trump administration's immigration policies can also impact jobs, including construction in the hospitality industry, restaurants and hotels.

That's according to former New Jersey State economist Charles Steindahl.

The prospects are not especially good.

Whether the unemployment rate goes up much is another matter since we know the growth of the labor force has shrunk so much largely because of the crackdown on immigration.

Qualified immigrants might be afraid to surface, even if they are, you know, have their green cards and everything else.

They still might be a little hesitant to be too active in the job market.

Now, Steindahl believes New Jersey is losing jobs overall.

The analytics firm Challenger Gray and Christmas pulls numbers from several different sources for its jobs report, and their latest survey shows more than 2,300 layoffs in New Jersey last month alone, continuing a downward trend that they've tracked all year.

But lacking hard job numbers from the Feds, Steindahl's looking at a different metric, unemployment claims.

He says there's less to be concerned about there.

SEN.

BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), Presidential Candidate: We look at the weekly unemployment claims data, which actually continue to come out all through the shutdown, and that's been running very low.

There hasn't been a lot of layoffs yet.

I know Challenger is talking about that.

But there really haven't been a lot of layoffs.

On the other hand, there hasn't been much in the past year.

And that's why we're seeing a lot of people in the state of New Jersey who are not able to get to work.

JUDY WOODRUFF: So, the state of New Jersey is facing a lot of pressure from the federal And, of course, the federal government is also facing a lot of pressure from the state of New Jersey.

And, of course, the federal government is also facing a lot of pressure from the state of New Jersey.

And, of course, the federal government is also facing a lot of pressure from the state of New Jersey.

the state of Texas, who heads the Rutgers Economic Advisory Service.

- Things have been tepid for quite a while, but this notion that we may be coming toward a recession, you know, we were looking at sort of middle of next year, you know, at least a recession as you might want to define it at the state level where we start to see, you know, significant job declines.

It's certainly possible.

And you know, looking at that Challenger Gray report, you know, there's a significant concentration of those of those job cuts that they discuss in industries that are important to New Jersey.

Now, there was that R word again.

And finally, two more letters impacting the 2026 jobs forecasts are A.I.

It's changing how the world works and how it hires.

Of course, it is kind of a headwind for for hiring as well, especially among younger people who are kind of coming out of college and where some of their jobs may be supplanted by by A.I.

That's that is a concern.

But on the whole, I would say it's going to be a weak year.

It's not going to be a disastrous year by any means.

So the economic forecasts include not disastrous, not especially good, not quite in recession and static.

As for U.S.

jobs data, we can expect the initial jobless claims report this Thursday.

And on December 16, we will get the big picture on U.S.

employment, with job gains and losses and the unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

It will include October data backlogged due to the government shutdown.

So, Brenda, where is A.I.

having the biggest impact on jobs?

So, interestingly, I asked the Moody's analyst if I were job hunting in New Jersey, what would be the toughest find right now?

And he said coding.

Even for beginners, that used to be the fast track to prime jobs with good salaries.

But if you're a coder now, good luck.

All right.

And good luck is a good way to end that.

Brenda Flanagan, thank you so much.

Thank you.

And before we leave you tonight, we're bringing you a special edition of NJ Spotlight News tomorrow, a conversation between Brianna Vannozzi and Governor Phil Murphy, looking at his tenure and accomplishments in the governor's office over two terms and what's next for him.

And on Thursday, catch an encore presentation of Brianna's conversation with Governor-Elect Mikey Sherrill from the League of Municipalities Conference in Atlantic City.

You can watch both of these conversations at 630 p.m.

right here on NJPBS or stream it on our NJ Spotlight News YouTube channel.

I'm Joanna Gagas for the entire team here at NJ Spotlight News.

Thanks for being with us.

See you right back here tomorrow.

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