Immigration

In the age of Trump, immigrants all over the country are under threat of detention and deportation. ICE is bringing fear into our communities and tearing apart our families. But the problem is deeper than Trump: America’s immigration system is fundamentally flawed, enabling the exploitation of whole communities. As a proud immigrant myself, I know how important it is to protect the rights of immigrants and ensure that everyone can fully participate in the life of New York State without threat or persecution. As State Senator, I will fight for:

• Making New York a sanctuary state through the passage of the Liberty Act and the Protect Our Courts Act to protect our communities from draconian immigration enforcement and end cooperation between local and state employees and ICE agents.
• The right to counsel in criminal, civil and immigration cases for all New Yorkers, regardless of citizenship status.
• Passage of the DREAM Act to ensure that every person in New York has access to a quality college education, regardless of citizenship status.
• Legislation to grant undocumented immigrants driver’s licenses
• Voting rights at the state and municipal level to enfranchise our communities
• Increased funding for the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project to expand state-funded legal representation for undocumented immigrants across the state. (Currently funding only provides public defender representation for less than 20% of undocumented immigrants in civil court proceedings upstate)
• Programs, and consistent and increased funding for programs, to ensure labor rights for undocumented workers who are disproportionately victims of workforce abuses and gaps in the existing enforcement of labor laws. While undocumented workers theoretically enjoy labor rights, in practice this is not enforced.
• For example, increasing maximum corporate penalties for worker abuses and funding initiatives against wage theft, health and safety protections, job training programs that target immigrant workers
• We need to pass the SWEAT Act to protect workers; immigrants are especially vulnerable to wage theft.
• Universal healthcare for New York State that covers all residents, including undocumented immigrants, access to free abortion on demand