This past Tuesday was a huge day for the immigration reform movement, nationally as well as right here on Long Island.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted overwhelming in support of the amended Immigration Reform bill on Tuesday. More importantly, many of the key provisions in the bill were left largely intact through the markup process, including the pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country, which is the heart of this bill.
This key step forward is a testament to all of the work done by the advocacy community and all of you who made calls and tweeted to our elected officials showing your support for immigration reform. Your efforts helped to make a difference in the outcome.
But we have a long way to go. The immigration bill will need to pass a vote from the full Senate next, and following that, the conservative-leaning House of Representatives.
We will continue our work to push for a bill that embodies all the principles we believe in, such as keeping families together, having fair enforcement, restores due process, and protects the rights of both native-born and immigrant workers.
NYS Dream Act
Substantial progress was also made yesterday right here in New York. The New York State Assembly voted to pass the long-awaited New York State Dream Act, which would give our state’s best and brightest immigrants the opportunity to pursue higher education. While the Dream Act will still need the approval of the State Senate, this is once again a key step forward and it shows that our voice is being heard.
We’d like to thank all of our supporters for your help and we urge you to continue doing all you can to make sure that immigration reform is a reality and that the Dreams of New York’s brightest come true.
-Maryann Sinclair Slutsky
Executive Director, Long Island Wins
