The brief was introduced by Cities United for Immigration reform and opposes a decision made by the U.S. Fifth Court of Appeals in Texas.
PRINCETON - Eighty-four cities and counties across the country have signed a brief in support of President Barack Obama's executive actions on immigration and earlier this month, Princeton became one of them.
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The new Princeton logo designed by town resident Jeff Leonard. The brief, brought forth to the U.S. Supreme Court by Cities United for Immigration Action (CUIA), supports Obama's immigration reform which will, "provide temporary relief from deportation and work authorization to immigrants with longstanding ties to the U.S. who pass a background check and meet other criteria," CUIA wrote on their website.
The effort is led by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. It opposes a decision by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Texas, which had ruled to block the executive order.
"We are urging the Supreme Court to review this case so implementation of the President's executive actions can finally move forward," de Blasio said on the website.
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For Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert, who joined the effort by signing the brief Dec. 5, it's a way to demonstrate that immigration reform impacts both small and large communities across the country.
"Right now we have a broken immigration system," Lempert said Tuesday. "We have a system where families get separated from one another."
Lempert said she brought the idea of signing the brief in front of the council to make sure town officials were in agreement.
But, she said, the act was just a sign of support, especially for the undocumented members of the Princeton community.
"It doesn't cost any money," she added.
Lempert said she didn't know the exact number of undocumented immigrants living in Princeton but that she knew it was a "sizeble" population.
"It would benefit our community and our country if there were a clear, easier path to citizenship," she said.
Anna Merriman may be reached at amerriman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @anna_merriman Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.