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Briana: Tonight, just as for Amer, -- justice for Amer, calling on the Trump Administration to investigate the death of the 14-year-old Saddle Brook native.

After a judge ruled muff med Khalil could be deported, a federal judge in New Jersey has temporarily barred it.

>> Regardless of where you fall on any issue, if you care about free speech and democracy, you should be outraged by was happening to Mr. Khalil and his family.

Briana: Also the deadly crash of a tourist helicopter that killed six has renewed demand to ban nonessential helicopter travel over the Hudson River.

>> Creates a number of different quality-of-life issues but as we saw in this tragedy, there is a real lack of regulation in this industry.

Briana: and tape your server, a new bill that would raise the minimum wage for restaurants has business owners fired up.

NJ Spotlight News begins right now.

Announcer: From NJ PBS Studios, this is "NJ Spotlight news" with Briana Vannozzi.

Briana: Good evening and thanks for joining us on this Monday night.

I'm Briana Vannozzi.

We begin with a few of today's top headlines, first, growing calls for the Trump Administration to investigate the fatal shooting of a New Jersey teenager in the West Bank.

U.S.

Senators Andy Kim and Cory Booker recently sent a letter to President Trump requesting a "thorough and transparent accounting of the facts" surrounding the death of the 14-year-old Saddle Brook native shot and killed by Israeli forces on April 6 while two other teenagers he was with were critically wounded, including 14-year-old -- a 14-year-old also born in New Jersey.

Hooker and Kim say after living in Saddle Brook, his family moved to the town in the West Bank were almost 80% of the population has dual American citizenship.

The letter asks the Trump administration to raise the investigation to the highest levels in meetings with Israeli and Palestinian governments and called for a U.S. Embassy officials to visit the families of the children.

The IDF said in a statement troops open fire on the teenagers were throwing rocks on a highway posing danger to civilians.

Also tonight it is back to the drawing board to find a bus service operator for routes in Middlesex County.

according to reporting from North Jersey.com, the canceled a massive $91 million bus contract with Hoboken based Academy express after another bus company that bid on the contract protested the rail line's decision which gave Academy control of 14 routes for a price that was about 74% higher than a current agreement with Coach USA.

The dispute centered around the way New Jersey transit scored the companies that bid on the project.

Academy scored the highest out of all the bidders but was still about half a point shy of the threshold set by New Jersey transit to be considered.

In rejecting the contract, state transit officials said they wanted to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

Academy by the way is still paying off a more than $20 million fine it was issued by New Jersey transit in 2022, to settle a lawsuit alleging the company and three of his employees defrauded the agency for at least six years.

Coach USA has the contract to service those roots until next month.

Elected leaders from across New Jersey are condemning the weekend attack on Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro's home.

Governor Murphy, Senator Kim, and Republican Congressman Van Drew are among the high-ranking officials who have spoken out against the political violence.

Authorities say a 38-year-old man from Harrisburg has been charged with attempted murder and terrorism for setting fire to Shapiro's home early Sunday morning while the governor and his family were sleeping inside.

According to police reports, the man, Cody Balmer, told officers he hated Shapiro and would have beaten the Democratic governor with the hammer he used to break inside the house, had Balmer encountered him.

Investigators are still working to determine a motive.

At a press conference this morning, Shapiro said the attack happened hours after his family hosted a dinner to celebrate Passover.

In separate statements, Murphy, Kim, and Van Drew reiterated hate and violence have no place here in our democracy.

In a victory for the Trump Administration, an immigration judge in Louisiana Friday ruled Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Kahlil can be deported from the country.

As a national security risk.

Ruling that the 30-year-old Palestinian activist presence here posed potentially serious foreign policy consequences.

Khalil is a legal permanent U.S. resident and the first international student arrested in recent weeks amid a broad crackdown on pro-Palestinian demonstrations on U.S. college campuses.

But the judge's decision does not mean the legal battle is over.

Khalil's attorneys have until April 23rd to file for relief and he can remain in the U.S. until then.

Meanwhile, a separate federal judge in New Jersey has temporarily barred his deportation while he fights another legal challenge here on the grounds he is being targeted for constitutionally protected free speech.

For more on that, I'm joined by the ACLU New Jersey Executive Director.

Thanks so much for coming on the show.

Can you just update us broadly on where things stand and also what you anticipate to differ with the hearing that Khalil will have in federal court in Newark?

>> Thanks for having me.

So on Friday, an immigration judge in Louisiana held that Mr. Khalil is deportable.

Now, that does not mean he will be deported.

It just means that he is deportable under the immigration law.

And we think that ruling was baseless.

What's different about the New Jersey case, the federal court in New Jersey is that we are going to try to get to the merits there about whether or not his First Amendment rights were violated.

And if so, then that is a constitutional violation and he should be immediately released.

And any threat of deportation should be removed.

Briana: I mean, Khalil is a green card holder.

He is here is a permanent legal resident of the U.S.

But are there interpretations of the Constitution that could say he is not a U.S. citizen, and so the same rights are not afforded to him when it comes to free speech?

>> No, look, the First Amendment applies to everybody in the U.S., regardless of their immigration status.

So if he's a citizen or a permanent resident or a visa holder, First Amendment still applies.

And for undocumented people, too, we all have free speech rights.

So if the court says in this instance free speech rights don't apply, we have a much bigger problem.

What we need to do is make sure the Constitution is protected and that this constitutionally protected speech is not used as a reason to deport somebody.

Briana: We have seen obviously since this has happened with Kahlil, other international students who have been detained, international students whose visas have been revoked.

From where you sit, what is this tactic?

Do you see it as a targeting of the government or is it within their jurisdiction to make the decision of one someone's visa -- when someone's visa should and should not be in good standing?

>> I think this is a blatant attempt to target people for their views and to rid the country of immigrants.

It's two things happening at the same time.

We are seeing proactive silencing of people who dissent, from U.S. foreign policy in particular, and we are also seeing an attempt to do whatever the government can to deport as many people as possible.

This is all a part of Trump's mass deportation scheme, and they are using the tactic of protests and the weaponization of protests on campus to get people out as much as possible.

Briana: Are you confident about how the case will play out in New Jersey?

>> There are many more steps before we reach a final conclusion.

But I am confident that the federal court in New Jersey will see what this is.

Which is a violation of somebody's First Amendment rights, and that we will win the day in Mr. Khalil's case.

He was arrested brutally, detained, threatened with deportation, and threatened to have his green card revoked all for constitutionally protected speech and that is a big red flag, regardless of where you fall on the ideological spectrum on any issue, if you care about free speech and democracy, you should be outraged by was happening to Mr. Khalil and his family.

Briana: Very quickly, how are he and his family, what does this mean for where he is located?

His wife is expecting a baby.

Is he still in Louisiana and should we expect he will be there as displays out?

>> He is still in Louisiana and the government is fighting to hold the case in Louisiana but what we are saying is that, no, this belongs in New Jersey where he was first detained and filed his first papers, and that is what the judge in the District of New Jersey held.

And so, we are hopeful that he will be first of all released while the child goes on and ultimately he will prevail and be there for the birth of his child.

I cannot imagine what his family is going through right now.

He is in good spirits and powering through, but it is a very hard time for that family, and they are dealing with a hostile federal government that is attacking its own people for exercising their constitutional rights.

Briana: Has the executive director for New Jersey's ACLU chapter, thanks so much for coming on the show.

At least three New Jersey universities are now among the list of others around the country where international student visas are being revoked.

According to higher Ed leaders, the action by the White House is happening without reason or warning, what comes amid speculation it is related to participation or believed participation in pro-Palestinian protests or other minor infractions.

As Joanna Gagis reports, many say it has had a chilling effect on the college community.

>> The Trump Administration has unilaterally gone into the database that tracks student visas and revoked visas.

Reporter: Throughout the past week, international students at colleges and universities across New Jersey and the nation have learned their visa status has been revoked.

Rutgers, Rowan, and Montclair State University's have had about two dozen students affected so far.

>> The reason that's being provided to them is very vague.

Almost to the point of not really any information explaining why.

Reporter: Like the deportation case of Columbia University's Mahmoud Kahlil.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained the revocation as being tied to students participating in pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses.

>> I think being in support of Hamas and coming into our universities and turning them upside down and being complicit in what are clearly crimes of vandalization, if you told us that is what you were going to do when you came to America, we would've never let you in.

If you do it once you get in, we will revoke it and kick you out.

Reporter: Immigration attorneys here say this action has created a dragnet pulling in students with no connection to those protests.

>> We are having as little as a speeding ticket, or a parking violation, or running a red light.

>> The students are not facing criminal charges.

In many cases, they have not face University disciplinary procedures.

These are entirely arbitrary.

No due process is being followed for any of the students we have seen revocations for.

Reporter: What would due process look like if the government have legitimate concerns that one or more of the students were engaging in behavior that perhaps was supportive of terrorist groups or against the national interests?

As we have heard the administration say.

>> Due process would minimally require an announcement of the complaints against the students and some procedure to which the -- through which the student could both be made aware of what they are being accused of and potentially present their own narrative of the facts of whatever the situation was.

Reporter: Assembly higher education committee member Jeffrey Shaffer and Berger has been outspoken in support of Jewish families who told him they are fearful after experiencing dangerous activity during the campus protest last year although no criminal charges were filed.

>> I would hope that would have a fair process to be able to understand why they are being questioned in the first place and why the determination has been made one way or the other.

That may come at some point.

You have to take it with a grain of salt.

There are two sides.

You don't know where it is in the process.

You want fairness for everybody.

But the rights of Americans and students here, to be free from any dangerous situation, I think supersedes everything.

Reporter: And while he thinks we will get more clarity as the process plays out, immigration attorney John less check shares a more sinister take on the action.

>> A lot of people have had concerns that the government is actually using this to try to suppress freedom of speech and suppress certain political speech in particular.

Political speech in supportive -- support of or in solidarity with the people of Gaza and Palestine.

Reporter: The Rutgers University student body president says he did hear language that was concerning on the New Brunswick campus.

>> there were incidents of anti-Semitism I was aware of, 100%.

Some of this language across campus was grotesque.

There was also just as much anti-Semitism there as anti-Palestinian hate on our campus.

We need to ensure everybody has a right to speak.

Everybody has a right to feel safe on campus.

Reporter: But that, he says, can never be confused with limiting free speech.

>> Everybody has a right to speech and expression when they come into this country.

It's what makes us great.

It's what the Founders really wanted when they envisioned this country.

That's what higher education is about.

Reporter: Some students facing revocation have filed restraining orders and other complaints through the courts.

Several of the New Jersey schools are helping students connect with legal representation.

For NJ Spotlight News, Joanna Gagis.

Briana: The investigation continues into the deadly crash of a tourist helicopter over the Hudson River that killed a family of five and the pilot.

The company involved in the crash, New York helicopter tours, shut down operations immediately, according to the FAA.

The agency is supporting the investigation being led by the National Transportation Safety Board and will launch a review of the tour operator's license and safety record.

But the probe overall is proving difficult.

According to the NTSB, the helicopter did not have flight recorders on board, which would've held vital information for investigators.

Our Senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan reports, it's another calls are mounting to ban the tours altogether.

Reporter: a large crane today retrieved wreckage from near the crash scene just off the Jersey City shoreline as investigators continued searching for the cause of last week's deadly helicopter crash that killed a family of five and the chopper pilot on a sightseeing tour.

Assemblywoman Jessica Ramirez heard it happen.

>> The boom was so scary.

I had no idea what happened.

I ran out and I just saw chaos.

Reporter: She lives in a nearby high-rise apartment building near a daycare center in Jersey City.

>> It was tragic, but thank God it happened in the water and not over a building.

Not over a daycare.

Not over a Hospital.

Especially in densely populated areas, that's a huge risk.

Reporter: Ramirez is cosponsoring legislation to ban tourist helicopters from lifting on in New Jersey.

New York helicopter tours shut down on Sunday but Tourist Halo still filled to the skies.

And they fly over residential neighborhoods on the Jersey side.

Thousands of flies lifted off from an airport in Kearny.

>> In the north, There's the Castle point route that goes over Hoboken.

There is the Holland route which goes as you can see over the Holland Tunnel area.

Reporter: Cory Davis lives in Hoboken.

>> When I am at the park and A helicopter flies over my head while I'm playing with my daughter, I don't feel safe especially after an incident like this.

Reporter: The helicopter passed inspection March 1 but the FAA records show mechanics found bits of metal in the helicopters transmission oil back in September.

It's a sign of old or worn parts.

New York helicopter tours had reported two prior incidents but no injuries.

It filed for bankruptcy in 2019.

>> This particular chopper and the fact that it was not being maintained as it should, it makes you wonder about our other tour companies also not maintaining helicopters in the way they should be.

>> It is an accident waiting to happen.

37 people have died in helicopter crashes in joy rides since 1977.

How many more people have to die?

Reporter: The FAA is investigate -- is investigating what it calls helicopter hotspots in different areas across the country and says that it will hold a safety panel to discuss risks and additional mitigation on April 22.

>> We have the most crowded airspace in the world here, because of that, helicopters fly extremely low to the ground and it creates a number of different kind of quality-of-life issues.

But as we saw in this tragedy, there's a real lack of regulation in this industry.

We think people's lives are at risk and a ban on nonessential flights is the most appropriate step to take.

Reporter: The National Transportation Safety Board's long registered his concerns -- its concerns over sightseeing flights, noting these operations are not subject to the same maintenance, airworthiness and operational requirements as other commercial flight operations.

But New York City Mayor Eric Adams does not want to shut down the helicopters.

>> That is part of the attractions of businesses being in the city and people coming to the city, seeing the city from the air.

As part of the attraction, what we must do is make sure it is safe and done correctly.

Reporter: A trade group That represents helicopter operators opposes ban noting some well-meaning but misguided leaders are using this tragedy to exploit and push their decades-old agenda to ban all helicopters.

We need to learn more from the investigation.

That is ongoing.

The owner of New York helicopter tours did not return our phone calls.

In Jersey City, Brenda Flanagan, NJ Spotlight News.

Briana: A proposal to boost the minimum wage for attempted workers -- for tipped workers in New Jersey has business owners fired up amid concerns that the change would force them to cut jobs or close their doors.

The bill would phase out the tip credit for restaurants and other tipped workers in the state by 2030 requiring employers to pay the full state minimum wage which currently sits at $15 an hour, regardless of extra gratuity from customers.

That would bring workers and industries like hospitality, salons, and bars in line with other minimum-wage workers here.

But as Ted Goldberg reports as part of our ongoing series, "Under the Dome," employers argue costs are already high and this is a burden they could not shoulder.

Reporter: Anyone who has worked as a waiter or waitress in New jersey knows that not every restaurant pays minimum wage.

Pay state law allowing temp credits allows restaurants to pay $5.62 an hour for employees who earn tips but a new bill would do away with that and require the full minimum wage for all employees.

>> If you cannot afford to pay your employees the minimum wage, then that says something about how you are operating.

>> I don't know if there's a problem that is worth addressing.

Reporter: David Vienna says the bill is a solution in search of a problem.

>> How often do you have to actually pay the difference?

>> Never.

Never.

Reporter: According to Vienna, his workers here at Lita make about $75,000 a year including tips.

Beyond his concern is without that tip credit, he will not be able to pay his employees that same wage.

>> I enjoy paying people enough money to get their kids through school and buy a house and have a life.

The restaurant might survive, but I will no longer be providing a life for people that I currently am and that is sad.

That's not what this is about.

>> This is often an industry that has lots of workers who are -- they are making low wages and they need the job.

They might be undocumented.

Reporter: Peter Chen works for New Jersey policy perspective and says what he calls wage theft is common but underreported in the hospitality industry.

>> It is hard for you as an individual to calculate, I made this dollar amount base wage of $5.62, then I take my tips that I earned and divided by the number of hours I worked, but only the hours that I work tipped.

Reporter: Others in the business industry worry that the new bill could force layoffs, coming from labor possibly becoming more expensive.

>> I would like to ensure the recommendations of the staff is what the best thing on the menu is, what the best thing is to eat.

You would not be getting this if this bill were to pass restaurant owners are forced to actually to automate systems and use AI or use robots.

>> It's going to be better for me.

But the decline in tips will not be $10 an hour worth and that is what we see in other states.

Reporter: Seven other states have eliminated the tip credit approach.

Along with cities like Washington, D.C. and San Francisco.

Vienna says there's a greater risk of restaurants closing while Chen says the risk is greatly overstated.

>> Nevada has restaurants.

Washington has restaurants.

In those states, the percentage of employment in restaurants and the total restaurant sector is higher than in states that continue to have the sub minimum-wage.

>> We are talking about probably a 10% increase, but we will have to pay everyone in the building to be in the building.

With margins about 10% to begin with for profit, we are talking about business either closing or letting go of employees who make up the difference.

-- to make up the difference.

Reporter: Without layoffs, customers could be stuck paying higher prices.

Something he hopes to avoid.

>> I avoid raising the prices at all costs.

That's the last thing I ever want to do.

It creates this feeling that you are being ripped off or a feeling that you have less buying power than you used to have, and we don't want to remind people of that.

Reporter: The bill has not come to a vote yet, but Lawmakers previously voted to raise the state's minimum wage to $15.49 an hour, a rate he says will impact his bottom line.

Ted Goldberg, NJ Spotlight News.

Briana: -- >> "Under the dome" is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

A private corporation funded by the American people.

Briana: That's going to do it for us tonight, but before we go, a reminder you can download our podcast wherever you listen and watch us any time by subscribing to the NJ Spotlight News YouTube channel.

I'm Briana Vannozzi.

For the entire NJ Spotlight News team, thank you for being with us.

Have a great evening.

We will see you back here tomorrow.

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