"Immigrants demand $100 million initiative in N.Y.&
Immigrants demand $100 million initiative in N.Y.
ALBANY-- After a fallout last year over Gov. Eliot Spitzer's failed plan to allow illegal immigrants to obtain drivers' licenses, more than 1,000 immigrants rallied on the steps of the Capitol on Monday to demand a new initiative from Spitzer: a $100 million citizenship program to fund education and legal services to help immigrants assimilate more easily.
The crowd was made up of a diverse mix of immigrants - from Russia, Mexico, Africa, Korea, Haiti and other countries - that now call the state home.
The $100 million citizenship initiative would fund English-learning classes for children and adults, provide legal assistance to help eligible immigrants through the citizenship application process and protect immigrants from abusive employers and scams, according the coalition.
The citizenship initiative would not only help immigrants achieve citizenship more easily, it would create a more respectful environment statewide for newcomers, said Chung-Wha Hung, executive director of the state's Immigration Coalition.
Immigrants' public image was hurt last year during the fallout following Spitzer's initiative to provide illegal immigrants with drivers' licenses, Hung said. Spitzer proposed the plan last September, but it was widely panned by the public and lawmakers, and less than two months later, he scrapped the idea. The proposal, though, was initially hailed by immigration groups.
"We need to turn from scapegoating to solutions," Hung said. "We're trying to set a new tone and turn the tide."
Currently, 4 million New Yorkers - 20 percent of the state's population - is foreign born, with 1.1 million of those currently eligible for citizenship, according to the coalition. Another 400,000 New Yorkers will be up for citizenship in the coming years, according to the coalition.
Manuel Rivera, the governor's top education aide who gave a speech at the rally, supported the education initiative.
"The education of our children, adults, is the great equalizer," said Rivera, former superintendent of Rochester city schools.
Rivera said that dropout rates among immigrant high-school students are too high, and there are not enough English classes for non-English speakers.
There are more than 200,000 students in the state school system that are trying to learn English, according to the coalition. A Spitzer spokesman said the governor has proposed funding to help immigrants in New York.
"In a difficult budget year where the governor closed a $4.6 billion budget gap, the state provides over $176 million in state and federal funding for immigrant support services and has targeted additional funding to immigrant children through education funding formulas," said Jeffrey Gordon, spokesman for the state budget division.
Members of the Westchester Hispanic Coalition were among the demonstrators demanding better education for immigrants.
Juana Gonzalga, an 18-year-old student and coalition-member from Rye, Westchester County, said she joined the rally because earning a quality education is important to her. "They should really focus on us, the youngsters, because we are the future," she said.
Jacqueline Garcia, an 18-year-old resident of Rye and student at the College of Mount Saint Vincent, said, "We are going to be tomorrow's majority."
On a national level, 270,000 immigrants were deported last year alone, up from 30,000 deported in 1990, Hung said. The high level of deportation makes immigrants feel unwelcome, she said.
"Is it the economy? Say it's the immigrants' fault. Is it terrorism? Say it is the immigrants' fault," Hung said.
Graciela Heymann, directors of the Westchester Hispanic Coalition said, "When immigrants are equated with terrorists, there is something wrong with our psyche."
DOSBURN@Nycap.rr.com
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