skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Immigrant Advocates Welcome GOP Principles, Oppose Citizenship "Wall"

play audio
Play

Friday, January 31, 2014   

NEW YORK – Immigration advocates in New York and the nation are putting out the welcome mat for the new GOP guiding principles for immigration reform, but they say they oppose any wall that would prevent citizenship.

House Republican leaders say their first priority is border security – and well down the list is the fate of more than 11 million undocumented immigrants who want to work legally.

The GOP insists there should be no special path to citizenship for people who broke the law.

Ali Nooriani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, says undocumented workers are not looking for a special path to citizenship.

“But we want to make sure that there's not a wall between legal permanent residence for the undocumented, and eventual citizenship," he stresses

GOP leaders say legal working status should only be granted after steps are taken to ensure border security.

Immigrant advocates in New York respond that a guaranteed pathway to citizenship should be created that isn't tied to onerous border triggers or other obstacles.

The proposal as it stands is bad policy and even un-American, in the view of Maryann Sinclair Slutsky, executive director of Long Island Wins.

She says people who are only able to work but not become citizens have no incentive to become involved in their communities.

"It's basically telling these people, ‘You’ll never really be an American,'” she points out. “It's keeping people in a permanent underclass, and that, we feel, is wrong and exploited – history has taught us that."

Slustky says she hopes Republicans are willing to engage in good faith negotiation so at least some of the principles they're talking about can be a starting point for action.

"We won't know what their principles mean until the House produces a detailed legislative proposal,” she stresses. “And only then will we really be able to judge whether they are serious about reform. "

Slustky adds it's critical for Congress to keep this issue on the front burner, so that action is taken this year.





get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021