Thread: New York State Senate Defeats Dream Act

It's official!


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/poli...icle-1.1724830

Congratulations to all of my fellow New Yorkers-including NY ICE-who made this happen!


http://american-rattlesnake.org/2014...new-york-city/

wow that is great news! I cant believe our side won in a place like New York!

W

DREAM Act killed in New York state Senate

The timing of Monday's vote took many by surprise. If the measure had passed, New York would have become the fifth state to enact the DREAM Act, which would have allowed state financial aid programs to cover the college kids of undocumented immigrants.

By Kenneth Lovett / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF

State Sen. Jose Peralta (center), a Democrat, sponsored the DREAM Act in the Senate, which failed to get the necessary votes to pass. 'It continues to be a nightmare for the DREAMers,' he said.

ALBANY — The state Senate Monday killed the DREAM Act in a “razor-thin” mostly partisan vote on Monday.

With 32 votes needed to pass, the measure came up two votes short with 30 in support and 29 against.

Had it passed, New York would have become the fifth state to enact the DREAM Act, which would have allowed state financial aid programs to cover the college kids of undocumented immigrants.

“It continues to be a nightmare for the DREAMers,” said Senate bill sponsor Jose Peralta (D-Queens).

Among those who voted against it were two Democrats — Sens. Ted O’Brien of Rochester and Simcha Felder of Brooklyn.


Felder sits with the chamber’s 29-member GOP conference, which didn’t provide a single vote.

While the Daily News reported last week that a vote was expected even though the measure likely didn’t have the votes to pass, the timing on Monday took many by surprise.

Senate co-Leader Jeffrey Klein, who heads a group of dissident Democrats that jointly run the chamber with the Republicans, said afterward he delivered on his promise to bring the bill to the floor.


Mike Groll/AP

Gov. Cuomo has taken heat for not being more aggressive on the DREAM Act, which would allow state financial aid programs to cover the college kids of undocumented immigrants.

Klein argued it is difficult to expect the Republicans to vote for it if all the Democrats weren’t on board for one of their core issues.
But Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said “the bipartisan coalition was supposed to bring bipartisan support to progressive issues and unfortunately that did not happen.”

Senate Deputy Democratic Leader Michael Gianaris of Queens accused Klein of being “the Republicans' chief enabler in the Senate.”

Assembly bill sponsor Francisco Moya, whose chamber passed the bill the past two years, called it “a gutless move” to bring the measure to the Senate floor without the votes there to pass it.

Both he and Peralta urged Gov. Cuomo to step up the pressure to secure the necessary votes in the Senate by pushing to include the DREAM Act in the final state budget due by the end of the month.

Earlier in the day, Cuomo — who has taken heat for not being more aggressive on the issue — called the DREAM Act “a priority.”

Supporters of the DREAM Act argued that kids shouldn’t suffer because their parents brought them into the country illegally.

But opponents said the state should be first trying to make college more affordable for those in the country legally.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/poli...#ixzz2wH6HLzeM

By THOMAS KAPLAN and JESSE McKINLEYMARCH 17, 2014
The New York Times

ALBANY — In a surprise vote, the New York State Senate on Monday rejected legislation that would have granted state tuition aid to undocumented immigrants, dealing a blow to immigrants’ advocates who had made it their top priority in the capital.

The Senate, controlled by Republicans and a small group of Democrats, failed to pass the measure despite a vote of 30 in favor and 29 opposed. It required 32 votes in favor to pass.

Immigrants’ advocates have been leaning on the Senate for months. But Republicans had shown no interest in considering the legislation, and the decision to hold a vote on Monday came abruptly, with almost no notice.

Even advocates were surprised: Latino activists who had planned to visit the Capitol on Tuesday to lobby for the measure said they would now use the trip to express their frustration.

All of the Republicans present voted against the measure; two Democrats, Simcha Felder of Brooklyn and Ted O’Brien of the Rochester area, also voted no.

“So many legal families are struggling with the high cost of college education right now,” said Senator Mark J. Grisanti, a Republican from Buffalo.

The vote on Monday came after a tense debate that stretched for more than an hour and was filled with emotional pleas for support from many Latino and black senators.

“This is an opportunity — an opportunity to do the right thing,” said Senator José R. Peralta, Democrat of Queens.

The legislation would have allowed undocumented students who met certain conditions to receive financial aid through state programs, like the Tuition Assistance Program. It would also have created a private scholarship fund for the children of immigrants, and allowed undocumented students and their families to open college savings accounts.

The Democratic-controlled State Assembly passed the measure last month. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, had not been a vocal advocate for its passage, which irritated a number of Hispanic lawmakers, but he had been expected to sign it if the Senate passed it. But it had been unclear for months if the bill had the necessary Senate support.

The measure, known as the Dream Act, got its name from federal legislation that would provide a path to citizenship for young immigrants who entered the country illegally. The New York measure would not offer an opportunity to gain legal status.

More than a dozen states offer in-state tuition rates to illegal immigrants. New York has done so for more than a decade, and an estimated 8,300 undocumented immigrants were attending public institutions of higher education in the state in the fall of 2013.

But only four states — California, New Mexico, Texas and Washington — offer state financial aid to undocumented students, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The decision to hold a vote in the Senate was orchestrated by Senator Jeffrey D. Klein of the Bronx, the leader of the Independent Democratic Conference, a five-member group that shares power with the Senate Republicans.

It was a rare instance of Senate-floor drama. It is highly unusual to hold a vote on legislation in Albany when passage is not guaranteed. Last year, not a single piece of legislation was defeated in a floor vote in the Senate, according to the New York Public Interest Research Group.

But Mr. Klein had been criticized for partnering with Senate Republicans, who have blocked a number of measures sought by liberal lawmakers. Democrats suspected he wanted to put the measure to a vote to avoid accusations from the left that he was complicit in bottling it up.

Speaking on the Senate floor, Mr. Klein recalled his own family history of immigration to the United States, as well as the nation’s tradition of welcoming people from foreign lands.

“You’re either standing up for these students to get their shot, or standing in the way,” he said.

But Javier H. Valdés, a co-executive director of Make the Road New York, a Latino advocacy group, questioned why Mr. Klein had pushed for the vote when one Republican senator who was seen as a possible supporter, Phil Boyle of Long Island, was absent.

“Our sense was that we were set up to lose, and that’s very concerning,” Mr. Valdés said. “Why would they call a vote so quickly that’s been debated for so long?”

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/18/ny...=nyregion&_r=0

But opponents said the state should be first trying to make college more affordable for those in the country legally.

Common sense to me but then I'm not a politician.

Thank you to everyone that called our State Senators, now we try to overturn the SAFE ACT next, don' t underestimate us Conservatives/Teaparty members in New York.

Added New York Daily News article to the Homepage:
http://www.alipac.us/content.php?r=2...k-state-Senate

Supporters of the DREAM Act argued that kids shouldn’t suffer because their parents brought them into the country illegally.

They wouldn't have to worry about it if the parents didn't make the wrong decision in bringing them here in the first place. It's certanly not OUR fault so why should we be forced to deal with what THEY want? We shouldn't. Deport them all and let them come through the proper channels if they want to be here so bad. Earn your rights, don't come to a foreign country illegally and demand them!!