NY Dream Act - NY Times

solidsnake · 03-24-2011, 03:54 PM

Another Article about dream act NY, this time in the New York Times:

Quote:

Three months after the defeat of the Dream Act, a Congressional bill that would have provided a path to legal residency for young illegal immigrants, a state senator from New York City has introduced his own version of the legislation in Albany.

Unlike its federal counterpart, the bill would not offer those immigrants a path to legal residency. But it would give some of them certain rights now granted only to legal residents and citizens, including the ability to hold some state jobs — a provision that appears to challenge federal laws that prohibit the hiring of undocumented workers.

The bill would allow illegal immigrants to get driver’s licenses, a proposal that will undoubtedly reprise the fiery debates that compelled Gov. Eliot Spitzer to drop a similar plan in 2007.

State Senator Bill Perkins, a Manhattan Democrat who introduced the bill this week, acknowledged the challenges confronting it. “There’s politics and other types of obstacles that must be overcome,” Mr. Perkins said in an interview on Wednesday.

The bill is one in a recent wave of state measures — some intended to empower immigrants, others meant to toughen the enforcement of immigration laws — that have been proposed in response to inaction in Washington. A number of state legislatures have considered versions of the Dream Act, most of them intended to allow students who are illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates for public colleges and universities, and to receive state financial aid.

This year, with Republicans newly in control of legislatures across the country, many state governments have vowed to pass bills to crack down on illegal immigrants; they include proposals resembling an Arizona law that expanded the powers of police officers to question the immigration status of people they stop.

State Senator Daniel L. Squadron, a Democrat who represents parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan who is co-sponsoring the New York bill, said the legislation was prompted by the failure of the Dream Act, which passed the House but was blocked by the Senate in December. “This allows New York to take the lead in a place where the federal government hasn’t yet succeeded,” he said.

New York allows illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition, but the bill would give them access to state financial support, including grants, loans and scholarships. Its most ambitious proposals are those seeking to provide certain illegal immigrants with “state identification or driver’s licenses” and “work opportunities with the State of New York.”

Mr. Squadron said the bill did not seek to undermine federal laws that prohibit employers from knowingly hiring illegal immigrants. But, he said, it “could potentially expand the state’s options within the federal limits.” He added that he was still studying the potential effects of the bill on employment.

To qualify for the benefits of the legislation, an illegal immigrant would need to have entered the United States before age 16, be younger than 35 and have lived in New York for at least two years before the law’s effective date. Among other requirements, the immigrant would have to have completed at least two years of a four-year degree in a college or university in the state, served at least two years in the New York National Guard or completed 910 hours of community service. Convicted felons would not be eligible.

Mr. Perkins said that he hoped the bill would attract support in the Legislature, but that he had not yet surveyed his peers or sounded out Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. “Nobody has yet said this is ridiculous, or anything negative in that vein,” Mr. Perkins said.

But several officials who loudly opposed Mr. Spitzer’s measure four years ago did not hesitate to criticize the new bill on Wednesday. Homing in on the driver’s license clause, Assemblyman James N. Tedisco, a Republican from Schenectady, said he anticipated opposition to that provision — and, by extension, the bill — would be strong.

“It’s just as wrong now as it was under Eliot Spitzer,” he said. “I think it’s a bill to nowhere.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/24/ny...m%20act&st=cse

txdream · 03-24-2011, 04:44 PM

Good news, I know this would never get adopted here in Texas. The fact of living in New York scares me.

MIdreamer · 03-24-2011, 04:54 PM

Quote:

have lived in New York for at least two years before the law’s effective date

How do you prove that?

solidsnake · 03-24-2011, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MIdreamer

How do you prove that?

probably through high school records if any or bills that you may pay, etc. I graduated high school here and my parents pay taxes when i'm under them. Plus my college has me under records attending institution for the past years i guess

solidsnake · 03-24-2011, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by txdream

Good news, I know this would never get adopted here in Texas. The fact of living in New York scares me.

NY isn't so bad, there are different people here with different personalities, the suburbs is where i live in queens, Brooklyn areas. Then again the thought of living in Texas scares me and NYC feels more immigrant friendly.

tyler129 · 03-24-2011, 07:01 PM

I just found out this bill has slim chance of passing because there are 32 republicans in the Senate out of 62 Senates in total.. 4 Senators are independent and 26 are dem

House has a good chance of passing though, there are 98 dems out of 120 House of representatives.

kikibay92 · 03-24-2011, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyler129

I just found out this bill has slim chance of passing because there are 32 republicans in the Senate out of 62 Senates in total.. 4 Senators are independent and 26 are dem

House has a good chance of passing though, there are 98 dems out of 120 House of representatives.

i thought this bill is in state level

tyler129 · 03-24-2011, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kikibay92

i thought this bill is in state level

There are 62 State senators in NYS Senate and 120 reps in House of representatives..

kikibay92 · 03-24-2011, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyler129

There are 62 State senators in NYS Senate and 120 reps in House of representatives..

thank you

GNIGHT · 03-24-2011, 11:21 PM

The bill needs to take the "financial aid" part out, or else it would be another political strategy to gain sympathy and votes. The NY education budget is fcked and this argument WILL come up on the debates. Someone do something. No to financial aid, we didn't need it before, we don't need it in the bill!

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NY Dream Act - NY Times