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  • Writer's pictureFronteras COL

Latin Community in South Jersey: United We Can

It’s a weekday in the afternoon and the Moreno brothers are in a meeting with the latin community in Atlantic City: The Hispanic Association. They represent them in the Atlantic City table, where other leaders of communities are too. Irbin Moreno, one of the brothers, pull out a card from his wallet and give it to the people that they met. The card is a help for the undocumented immigrants that are in the city “Do not open the door to an ICE agent” or “It’s your right to remain in silence” are some of the sentences that are write down.




Irvin and Cristian are brothers from Mexican parents. Their family is undocumented and that’s their inspiration for their work. They don’t just help people by letting them know their rights, but also fighting for them before the police or the other leaders of the city.


Latin people in South Jersey live normally in calm, even know that’s a very white area, with not a lot of diversity. This area is popular for the blueberries farms, where mostly undocumented immigrants work. Atlantic city is other story, the Latin community there is bigger. The Mayor is Democrat and that’s why the order for the police over there is not to collaborate with ICE. However undocumented people don’t trust in the police and they are afraid of contacting them.


That was the statement that Cristian defended in the March assembly in front oh Sheriff, the other leaders of the table and the community. Cristian was asking to the Police to give him certain videos that prove that they don’t collaborate with ICE. However, the Police ignored him for more than a month and their response was that the Latin community trust them and that they know their necessities.


Hours later, in a dinner with other members of the Hispanic Association, Cristian showed his madness. “Why are they going to say they know what my people want when they don’t even know them”, said him. People is afraid because ICE is actually arresting people here in Atlantic City, “it happened last night”, said Irvin.

The importance of community leaders in this type of situation is notable, since they act as representatives of vulnerable communities and prevent violations of their rights from going unnoticed. They also represent the specific interests of each community on a city diverse and multicultural as Atlantic City.


However, the other members of the Hispanic community prevented Cristian from taking the problem so personally. Since, probably, the people defending the opposing interests were assuming a public role that was very different from their ideology. So, the other members of the Hispanic community advised Cristian to find a balance between his personal life and the interests that he was publicly defending.


Mo Delgado was in that dinner too. He’s from Puerto Rico and want to run for the mayor elections in Atlantic City. In the assembly he spoke about the importance to be united, not just latin people, but all the groups that can be vulnerable. “We cannot be in separate ways, the Afro Americans fighting against us, or vice versa”, said Delgado.


Vinnie Pizzimenti is one of the members that was in the assembly too. He asked to record the answer of the Chief when he was facing Cristian Moreno. Her case is interesting, because she’s Colombian, but was raised for Americans since she was a little baby. She says that feels a connection with Latin America, even know she have never go there. She knew Irvin Moreno when she was studying her Master in Stockton University. Then, he invited her to the meetings and since that moment she have felt very passionate about it, being voluntary in different activities.



The work of the Hispanic Association come also from giving tools to the Latino community for their day to day. That’s why Bert Lopez, the head of the group, record a talk show. Latino Motion is the space in which Bert talk about health, education, culture and social issues that are useful for the community. His work is also voluntary, as the rest of the members of the Association.


Now, in this difficult times of the Coronavirus, the Hispanic Association has helped to the people of the community that needed most. Some of the members recollected food and groceries for the Latin families that have been seen affected their income.

That night's meeting, probably one of the last physical meetings of Atlantic City community and Police leaders for quite some time, showed the importance of unity among different communities.


As Irving Moreno said during his speech “although those who attack vulnerable communities, the migrant people are just another number, for us, beyond a number they are friends and family”. That’s why, the struggle cannot be between communities that want to highlight in the US society over the others, but rather they have to support each other to right as one community.


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