Professional Opportunities
Research Assistant, the Youth and Family Interview Team - Rutgers School of Social Work Center for Prevention Science (remote)
Pennsylvania Field Director - League of Conservation Voters (Philadelphia, PA)
Campaigns Manager - PFLAG National (remote)
Organizing Manager: Students Demand Action - Everytown For Gun Safety (remote)
Exciting Fellowship Opportunity:
State Policy Fellow - New Jersey Policy Perspective (hybrid: Trenton, NJ)
National Policy News Highlights
Donald Trump’s government declares that transgender and nonbinary people don’t exist
The Advocate
“As one of his first executive orders since returning to office on Monday, President Donald Trump declared that the federal government would no longer recognize transgender people. The sweeping directive, titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” defines sex as strictly male or female based on the “immutable biological reality of sex” characteristics at birth.”
Trump Reverses Biden Order that Eliminated DOJ Contracts with Private Prisons
The Brennan Center for Justice
“President Trump reversed an important Biden administration criminal justice policy Monday, opening the door to more people in federal custody being sent to private prisons. The Biden executive order — one of his first — had directed the Justice Department not to renew contracts with private prison firms. In one of his first moves as president, Trump — as part of a slew of reversals of Biden-era actions — reversed Executive Order 14006, which had eliminated Justice Department contracts with ‘Privately Operated Criminal Detention Facilities.’”
How Segregated Are Your Local Private Schools? We Made a Tool to Help You Find Out.
ProPublica
“When children don’t go to school together, they don’t interact much with peers of another race. Their parents don’t meet at the bus stop or at PTA meetings or on the sidelines of football games. Communities can remain almost as divided as they were before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled state-mandated school segregation was unconstitutional — 70 years ago.”
Medicaid: What to Watch in 2025
KFF
“At the start of 2025, many issues are at play that could affect Medicaid coverage, financing, and access to care. Medicaid is the primary program providing comprehensive health and long-term care to one in five low-income Americans...Even without Congressional action, the Trump administration can make significant programmatic changes through administrative action (including state demonstration waivers, regulations, and other guidance).”
Regional Policy News Highlights
Statewide tracking of rape kits now required by law in New Jersey
New Jersey Monitor
“In March 2023, Attorney General Matt Platkin ordered a series of changes intended to limit New Jersey law enforcement’s ability to leave rape kits untested. He quadrupled the time agencies must store untested rape kits (from five to 20 years) and limited the circumstances under which agencies can opt not to have evidence tested.”
Murphy’s policy declarations fall short for social justice advocates
NJ Spotlight News
“Gov. Phil Murphy’s State of the State speech…provided a broad policy vision for the upcoming year, reaffirming his commitments to issues like education access, property-tax relief and the expansion of civic engagement. But what he didn’t say is also catching the attention of social justice advocates, who said he did little to address some of their pressing issues ahead of President…Donald Trump’s next administration.”
First New Jersey towns opt to move forward with affordable housing plans
Gothamist
“New Jersey cities and towns have until the end of January to either accept the amount of affordable housing the state is requiring them to produce over the next 10 years or come up with counterproposals. There are some early signs that local governments are buying into the state’s new approach.”
New Jersey leads effort to challenge Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship
WHYY (NPR)
“Attorneys general from 22 states sued Tuesday to block President Donald Trump’s move to end a century-old immigration practice known as birthright citizenship guaranteeing that U.S.-born children are citizens regardless of their parents’ status. Trump’s roughly 700-word executive order, issued late Monday, amounts to a fulfillment of something he’s talked about during the presidential campaign.”
Upcoming Events
Popcorn and Politics: NJ Democratic & Republican Gubernatorial Debate Watch Parties
Presented by the Eagleton Center for Youth Political Participation
Sunday February 2nd, & Tuesday February 4th, 2025
6:30pm-9:00pm
The Eagleton Institute of Politics
Woodlawn Mansion, Douglass Campus
191 Ryders Lane, New Brunswick, NJ
Join Eagleton’s Center for Youth Political Participation for a watch party of the debate between the Democratic and Republican nominees for New Jersey Governor! For both events, doors open at 6:30PM; debate begins at 7:00PM. Light food and drinks will be provided. Open to current Rutgers University undergraduate and graduate students only. Advanced registration is required.
2/2 Democratic Gubernatorial Debate
Democratic Gubernatorial Nominees:
- Mayor Ras Baraka, Newark, NJ
- Mayor Steven Fulop, Jersey City, NJ
- Representative Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5)
- Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11)
- Sean Spiller, President, NJEA
- Steve Sweeney, Former NJ Senate President
To register for the Democratic Debate, click here.
2/4 Republican Gubernatorial Debate
Republican Gubernatorial Nominees:
- Senator Jon Bramnick (R-21)
- Jack Cittarelli, Former NJ Assemblyman
- Ed Durr, Former NJ State Senator
- Bill Spadea, Radio Host, New Jersey 101.5
To register for the Republican Debate, click here.
Protecting Medicaid for Older Adults: What's at Risk & What Advocates Can Do
Presented by Justice in Aging
Tuesday February 4th, 2025
2:00pm-3:00pm
**online**
"As Congressional leadership prepares their 2025 legislative agenda, reports show that Medicaid is at risk of being cut. Some lawmakers are putting forth a variety of Medicaid “reform” proposals that aim to take federal funding away from states or restrict eligibility. As Justice in Aging’s new fact sheet explains, any of these cuts would result in older adults losing access to health and long-term care.
'It is important for advocates for older adults to be prepared with the knowledge and tools to defend Medicaid. Legislation to enact Medicaid cuts could move quickly as Republicans seek to leverage their narrow majorities in both chambers and use the budget reconciliation process to bypass the Senate’s 60-vote threshold. More cuts could show up in other legislation throughout the year.
The webinar, Protecting Medicaid for Older Adults, will discuss what is at risk for older adults if policymakers cut Medicaid and provide an overview of how Congress can fast-track these cuts and expected timing. Presenters will recommend advocacy strategies and resources that attendees can use in their own states and communities. Who Should Participate: Advocates for older adults and other Medicaid and aging stakeholders.
Presenters:
Natalie Kean, Director of Federal Health Advocacy, Justice in Aging
Gelila Selassie, Senior Attorney, Justice in Aging
Amber Christ, Managing Director of Health Advocacy, Justice in Aging
Closed captioning will be available. Please be sure to log onto the webinar a few minutes early in order to secure your place for the live presentation on Zoom. The presentation will be recorded and available for later viewing. If you would like to request ASL interpretation or have other accessibility related questions, please email trainings@justiceinaging.org at least one week in advance.
To register for this event, click here.
Highlight of the Week: Immigration Policy Tracking Project
The Immigration Policy Tracking Project (IPTP) compiles and indexes all identifiable Trump 1.0 (first term) and 2.0 (second term) immigration policies with key source documents and the current status of each policy.
IPTP is a project of Professor Lucas Guttentag working with Stanford and Yale law students and supported by a team of leading national immigration experts. The project began in 2017 to record and preserve a complete record of all Trump administration immigration actions. The site has been continuously updated to reflect the current status of every entry.
Each policy or action is listed as a separate entry with all relevant source documents. Entries are reviewed by consulting immigration experts before publication on the IPTP website. The goal is to provide a complete compendium of Trump administration policies adopted through rules, directives, guidance, memos, or other means in order to permit a fuller understanding of the scope of Trump-era policies and to facilitate reform. Feedback to supplement, update, or refine entries is encouraged.
Policies can be searched for by subject matter, agency, and administrative action. Updates on 1.0 immigration policies are also accessible in the database.
You can visit the IPTP for more information and policy review by clicking the image above or clicking here.
