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Issues: Immigrants Rights

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New York Dream Act: Enact the New York DREAM Act to enable 4,500 undocumented students who graduate from high school each year to pursue a college education. DREAM stands for Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors. 146,000 undocumented youth now in New York will benefit from this law. It would allow undocumented students who meet in-state tuition requirements to access state financial aid and scholarships for higher education. It establishes a DREAM Fund Commission to raise private funds for a college scholarship program for children of immigrants.

Drivers Licenses for Undocumented Immigrants: Permit undocumented immigrants to acquire drivers licenses, which will enhance public safety as well as equal justice under law.

Expand the Liberty Defense Project: Increase funding from $10 million to $20 million to provide immigrants with legal services and process.

Sanctuary State

  • Enact the Liberty Act: Prohibits state agencies from collecting or sharing an individual’s immigration information with federal agencies.
  • Prohibit the use of public funds in New York State to enforce federal immigration laws.

  • Maintain Executive Order 179 (September 15, 2017) that prohibits:

    • state agencies and officers from inquiring about or disclosing an individual's immigration status unless required by law or necessary to determine eligibility for a benefit or service.

    • law enforcement officers from inquiring about immigration status unless investigating illegal criminal activity, including, but not limited to, when an individual approaches a law enforcement officer seeking assistance, is the victim of a crime, or is witness to a crime.

  • Maintain the Attorney General's Civil Rights Bureau guidance for local law enforcement to limit their participation in federal immigration enforcement activities, including:

    • refusing to enforce non-judicial civil immigration warrants issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Customs and Border Protection (CBP),

    • protecting New Yorkers' Fourth Amendment rights by denying federal requests to hold uncharged individuals in custody more than 48 hours,

    • limiting access of ICE and CBP agents to individuals currently in custody,

    • limiting information gathering and reporting that will be used exclusively for federal immigration enforcement.

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