New York State Mulls Citizenship for Undocumented Workers/Democrats

[lostinblue 1,989]

New York State Mulls Citizenship for Undocumented Workers.

By Josh Eidelson June 16, 2014

Immigration reform advocates demonstrate in New York on Nov. 12, 2013

(An earlier version of this story ran online.)

While Congress drags its feet on immigration reform, New York State lawmakers are considering an immigration bill of their own. It would grant state citizenship to some noncitizen residents—including documented and undocumented immigrants—allowing them to vote and run for office. Under the New York Is Home Act, introduced on June 16, noncitizens who have proof of identity and have lived and paid taxes in the state for three years could apply for legal status. It would qualify them for Medicaid coverage, professional licensing, tuition assistance, and driver’s licenses, as well as grant state and local—but not federal—voting rights. The responsibilities of citizenship would also apply, including jury duty. “It’s mind-boggling,” says Michael Olivas, a professor at the University of Houston Law Center who specializes in immigration law and is in favor of the bill. “I don’t believe there’s ever been a serious attempt to codify so many benefits and opportunities.”

Democratic State Senator Gustavo Rivera, who’s sponsoring the legislation, sees it as a precedent. “We have a bill here that could be a model of what we need to do across the country,” he says. Rivera acknowledges the bill “certainly will not pass this session,” but compares it to early efforts to build support for same-sex marriage, a cause that took years to go from fringe to mainstream. Democratic Assemblyman Karim Camara is introducing the same bill on the other side of the Capitol; a spokesperson for Governor Andrew Cuomo said his office is reviewing the proposal.

More modest pro-immigrant measures have recently passed in several states. In January, California began allowing undocumented immigrants to practice law. In June, Florida extended in-state tuition to people who came to the U.S. illegally.

The New York bill is by far the most sweeping. If it passed and Cuomo signed it, the new law would certainly be challenged in court. Olivas says some aspects—such as in-state tuition for undocumented students—are on safe ground, while others—like the right to run for office—are “unsettled or untested” areas of the law. Other legal scholars are less forgiving. It’s “a horrible idea,” says Theodore Ruthizer, who teaches immigration law at Columbia Law School. “Citizenship should not be watered down and should not be rendered meaningless.”

A state law wouldn’t trump federal immigration statutes, so undocumented workers in New York would still be denied some important benefits of citizenship. One big example: They’d be subject to federal laws barring them from legally working in the U.S.

Supporters insist the bill would be well within existing law. It’s “exercising a firmly established, constitutionally enshrined authority of the state to determine the boundaries of its own political community,” says Peter Markowitz, a professor at New York’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. He says the bill, which he helped draft, is consistent with U.S. Supreme Court precedents that recognize state as well as federal citizenship. “The very nature of our dual-sovereign federal structure,” he says, “means that New York gets to decide who are New Yorkers.”

The bottom line: Democratic lawmakers in New York introduced a long shot bill to give undocumented workers state citizenship.

Eidelson is a reporter for Bloomberg Businessweek in Washington.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-06-16/in-new-york-a-bill-to-grant-undocumented-immigrants-state-citizenship

[JohnR! 5,495]

Didn't Texas, Arizona and Alabama pass state laws concerning immigration as well?

[mota bhai 2,675]

What is "state citizenship"?

[unsmiley 111]

Simple case of particularly loony lefties so desperate to hold onto power and vacuum up votes, even from lawbreakers and the ineligible. I guess registering dead people was not enough.

[JohnR! 5,495]

Simple case of particularly loony lefties so desperate to hold onto power and vacuum up votes, even from lawbreakers and the ineligible. I guess registering dead people was not enough.

No different than TX, AZ and AL.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

No different than TX, AZ and AL.

And pray tell, which party is the majority in those states?

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

Simple case of particularly loony lefties so desperate to hold onto power and vacuum up votes, even from lawbreakers and the ineligible. I guess registering dead people was not enough.

You sling insults about the left like you can't help it. You and LIB would be great BBFs in real life.

[JohnR! 5,495]

And pray tell, which party is the majority in those states?

That is obvious: Loony lefties [sic]!! Who else would think of passing populist laws in order to appease the less aware?

Edited July 15, 2014 by JohnR!

[lostinblue 1,989]

What is "state citizenship"?

In NY state NY city has enough votes to keep it a democratic state on a national level.... I recall Mario Cuomo ran for governor and only won NY city and long Island maybe one upstate city.. Lost all the counties ... Still won the governors race. Now they want to give undocumented Democrats the right to vote state wide...... Looks like then every liberal Idea out of NY city would get passed into law for the entire state .

Andrew Cuomo, the New York State governor, said in a Friday morning radio interview that if extreme conservatives are right-to-life, pro-assault-weapon, anti-gay, then they have no place in the state

of New York,

http://politichicks.tv/column/herr-cuomo-says-extremist-conservatives-arent-welcome-ny-state/

Allow enough undocumented democrats to vote in their local election district and you control the whole state .....Many election district races win by a thousand or two voters.

[spookyturtle 9,466]

Immigration law is federal, not state.

[mota bhai 2,675]

IMO Upstate NY totally deserves to be its own state. Too bad Congress would never allow it.

[JohnR! 5,495]

IMO Upstate NY totally deserves to be its own state. Too bad Congress would never allow it.

Then what should we do with Vermont? Sell it to the Russians?

[mota bhai 2,675]

What?

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

To be fair, many states have at some point or another permitted non-citizens to vote, but these rights no longer exist. It's not an issue relating to immigration, so much as a matter of suffrage. The question at the heart of extending suffrage to non-citizens is whether those who are not citizens should be given representation. We're not just talking about situations where the non-citizen is here illegally, but long-term legal residents as well. Should they, who pay taxes and contribute to American life, be entitled to representation? Personally, I see voting as the purview of the citizen only. It is a privilege and one that is underutilised by citizens. We should be working instead to encourage legal residents to become citizens as quickly as possible.

[mota bhai 2,675]

To be fair, many states have at some point or another permitted non-citizens to vote, but these rights no longer exist. It's not an issue relating to immigration, so much as a matter of suffrage. The question at the heart of extending suffrage to non-citizens is whether those who are not citizens should be given representation. We're not just talking about situations where the non-citizen is here illegally, but long-term legal residents as well. Should they, who pay taxes and contribute to American life, be entitled to representation? Personally, I see voting as the purview of the citizen only. It is a privilege and one that is underutilised by citizens. We should be working instead to encourage legal residents to become citizens as quickly as possible.

lol librul