Today, Immigration Advocates, Labor Organizations, Elected Officials and Immigrants gathered on the steps of City Hall to push for the passage of the Immigrant Voting Rights Bill, a New York City Local Law that would extend municipal voting rights to the hundreds of thousands of legally present, non-citizens living in New York City.
Over 1.3 million immigrants across New York State contribute $229 Billion in tax and economic revenue. Yet, they are not represented at any level of government. The passage of this bill would be a game changer for the 2013 Mayoral race as well as a plethora of other races across the city, as an entirely new voting block would immediately come into play.
There are currently 35 Council Members signed on to the bill, a veto-proof majority, and Speaker Christine Quinn has expressed interest in this issue. There will be a joint hearing directly following the rally with the Council Committees on Immigration and Governmental Operations listening to testimony on the impacts of this bill.
UPDATE
Mayor Bloomberg opposes the bill, in part because it violates state law which makes citizenship a requirement to vote. "The Mayor believes voting is the most important right we are granted as citizens and you should have to go through the process of becoming a citizen and declaring allegiance to this country before being given that right," spokeswoman Evelyn Erskine said.
New York City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Queens) said the proposed six-month residency requirement is not long enough. “Someone in the country that short a time doesn’t have a stake in the future of the city,” he said.
The group ImmigrationWorks USA, which takes a conservatie approach toward immigration reform, said the proposal “dilutes citizenship.” "Citizenship should mean something and it should have privileges you don't have when you haven't become a citizen yet," said the group‘s president, Tamar Jacoby.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!
Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us 
No comments:
Post a Comment