Residents press Middlesex County on immigrant trust act, transit service, policing transparency and data centers

Several members of the public used the comment period to press the board on policy and accountability matters. Irfan DeWalt of Princeton criticized the board’s process around a version of the immigrant trust act, saying he had emailed the board on Dec. 29 without receiving a promised response and urging the body to take a clear public position rather than giving an inventory of past services. “The question was, who supported the ITA?” DeWalt said, arguing that silence leaves protections vulnerable if jurisdictions refuse to enforce the law.

Charlie Pradibil, identifying himself as editor of New Brunswick Today, thanked county staff for their service but criticized county transportation policy and the microtransit rollout, saying fixed‑route service was reduced during the pandemic and that microtransit does not meet all needs (service ends at 6 p.m. on weekends). Pradibil also raised concerns about police transparency after the death of 68‑year‑old Deborah Terrell, saying the government has not provided sufficient information and asserting, “our government protects the police over the people.” He named an officer in his remarks as recorded in the transcript and criticized what he described as limited public speaking opportunities at the reorganization meeting.

Pradibil also cautioned about a proposed data center on Route 1 in South Brunswick, saying it could raise electricity rates and use substantial water for relatively few jobs. Both DeWalt’s and Pradibil’s remarks were delivered during public comment; the transcript does not show direct, formal responses beyond the board’s earlier announcements.

Why it matters: public comments highlighted constituent concerns about immigration‑related enforcement, transparency in policing investigations, everyday transit access, and local environmental/economic tradeoffs for data centers.

What’s next: public commenters requested clearer responses from county officials and documentation on agendas and follow‑up; the transcript does not show whether staff committed to follow up on these requests.