Social Policy Network Newsletter: May 9

Professional Opportunities
WORK FOR THE NEWSLETTER!

We are looking for a first-year MAP student to become the editor for the 2025-2026 school year! If you are interested, please email russwswpn@gmail.com.

Data Analyst - The New Media Firm (Washington, DC)

Program Manager - Sadie Nash Leadership Project (hybrid: Newark, NJ)

Survey Manager - Montclair State University Center for Research and Evaluation on Education and Human Services (CREEHS) (hybrid: Montclair, NJ)

Worker Organizer - Make the Road New Jersey (Elizabeth, NJ)

Manager of Admissions & Placement - SEEDS, Access Changes Everything (hybrid: Newark, NJ)

National Policy News Highlights
Trump’s new plan for student loans, briefly explained
Vox
“The first Trump administration stopped requiring repayment of student loans in March 2020. After Joe Biden’s attempt at mass student loan forgiveness was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2023, payments resumed for loan borrowers. But at first, borrowers who weren’t making payments avoided penalties. In April, the Trump administration announced it would resume collections on loans that have not been paid…”

The Federal Work Force Cuts So Far, Agency by Agency
The New York Times
“The so-called Department of Government Efficiency — created by executive order — has circumvented a Republican-controlled Congress, which has chosen not to check its authority. Still, it has been subject to frequent legal challenges. Thousands of those fired were reinstated in February, following court orders. But two decisions in early April from the Supreme Court and an appeals court sided with the Trump administration to block the lower court rulings reinstating fired probationary workers.”

Missouri’s voters restored abortion rights. Their leaders are trying to overrule them.
The 19th
“...Missouri is now on the frontlines of the anti-abortion movement’s growing effort to reverse abortion rights state by state, trying to undo the ballot measures voters approved to enshrine those same protections. Those efforts brewing in the capitol, Jefferson City — not even 50 miles from Columbia — have added another layer to the challenges faced by abortion providers in the state, who are building infrastructure from scratch to provide care for people…”

Deadly April rainfall in US South and Midwest was intensified by climate change, scientists say
The Associated Press
|“Human-caused climate change intensified deadly rainfall in Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and other states in early April and made those storms more likely to occur, according to an analysis released Thursday by the World Weather Attribution group of scientists. The series of storms unleashed tornadoes, strong winds and extreme rainfall in the central Mississippi Valley region from April 3-6 and caused at least 24 deaths. Homes, roads and vehicles were inundated and 15 deaths were likely caused by catastrophic floods.”

Regional Policy News Highlights
New migrant jail in Newark begins housing detainees despite legal challenge
The New Jersey Monitor
“A 1,100-bed immigrant detention facility located near the Essex County jail in Newark has started housing migrant detainees despite a legal challenge by Newark officials who sued to prevent the building from opening. The facility — called Delaney Hall and operated by private prison company Geo Group under a 15-year contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — is the largest migrant jail on the east coast. Newark officials have argued that Geo Group did not secure the city permits needed for it to open.”

More Trump cuts, now to school mental health teams
NJ Spotlight News
“The New Jersey Department of Education was in its third year of implementing a five-year, $15 million effort to expand access to mental health professionals in schools throughout the state. That project will now have to end two years early, according to a recent news release from the governor’s office. “This is awful and terribly short-sighted,” Julie Larrea Borst, the executive director of Save Our Schools NJ Community Organizing, said of the federal funding cut.”

17 states, including New Jersey and Delaware, sue Trump administration for blocking the development of wind energy
WHYY (PBS)
“Attorneys general from 17 states and Washington, D.C., are challenging an executive order Trump signed during his first day in office, pausing approvals, permits and loans for all wind energy projects both onshore and offshore. They say Trump doesn’t have the authority to unilaterally shut down the permitting process, and he’s jeopardizing development of a power source critical to the states’ economic vitality, energy mix, public health and climate goals.”

NJ Transit says riders should work from home if engineers go on strike
Gothamist
“NJ Transit riders on Wednesday were urged to work from home if Garden State locomotive engineers make good on a threat to strike in mid-May, which would shut down the agency’s commuter rail service that carries roughly 350,000 daily passengers. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers members earlier this month rejected a tentative agreement between the union’s leadership and NJ Transit, allowing for a strike as early as May 16.”

Upcoming Events
The Lantern Festival for Justice and Unity
Facilitated by AAPI New Jersey
Saturday May 17th, 2025
6:00pm - 10:00pm
Edgemont Memorial Park
Valley Road, Montclair, NJ 07042

The fifth annual Lantern Festival for Justice and Unity, AAPI New Jersey’s signature event, will bring together thousands of people from all walks of life to share our 1+ million strong AAPI community’s dreams of a more just, inclusive, and welcoming future. Thousands of lanterns illuminating the pathways will represent each person who has helped light the way forward, while art projects and community partners dotted throughout the park invite attendees to explore our histories, build solidarity, and engage in social justice work. Food trucks, children’s activities, and live music inspired by Asian American and other song traditions of liberation and resistance will round out this joyful, powerful evening for all ages.

This event is free to attend! For more information and volunteer opportunities, click here.

To the Class of 2025
We’d love to keep in touch!! If you’d like to continue receiving our emails during the school year, don’t forget to subscribe with your preferred email address. The newsletter is great for alumni, and we hope that you can send us any resources, job opportunities, or stories you might like to share. Please subscribe with your preferred non-Rutgers email here.

Highlight of the Week
Newark Documenters
NWK Documenters is a civic journalism program that empowers community members to take up space by training them to document public meetings. Together, we are creating a new public record in Newark. Join today to become the eyes and ears of the city!

On Monday, May 12th at 6:00pm, there will be a 1-hour online orientation that will introduce you to Newark Documenters and the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice (NJAIJ). You’ll get an overview of the operations of the program, how to use the website, and what to expect on assignment.

Majority of the time will be spent information-sharing, and they’ll share the slides and resources following the event. Upon completion of this workshop, you’ll be eligible to apply for paid assignments.

Also, on Wednesday, May 14th from 4:30 to 6:30, you can join them for a field trip to an Essex County Commissioners meeting! You will attend the public meeting together before heading out for a pizza and debrief to chat about the process of a meeting.

Any questions or access needs can be sent to documenters@njimmigrantjustice.org.