October 2015 immigration news at a glance

Written by Kara DeDonato

This month’s immigration news digest provides information about the positions the 2016 presidential frontrunners have taken on immigration and undocumented immigrants. Plus, we take a look at new initiatives and opportunities benefiting immigrants in the New York area.

Democratic candidates and undocumented immigrants

Hillary Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner, announced her immigration reform plan over the summer, in which she voiced her support for a path to full and equal citizenship for individuals currently living in the US without legal status.

This sets her apart from her Republican counterparts, and also signals more robust support for undocumented immigrants than her previous rhetoric and actions. In the past, Clinton has consistently opposed drivers’ licenses for undocumented immigrants and has also called for increased security at the US border, with both Mexico and Canada. However, while in the Senate, Clinton voted in favor of the immigration reform bill of 2007 and rejected an amendment that would have blocked federal funding to sanctuary cities. She also opposed a proposed bill that would have declared English as the official language of the United States, amidst concerns that such a bill would threaten multilingual government programs, and stir up discrimination against immigrants.

In further display of support for undocumented immigrants, Hillary Clinton’s Latino Outreach Director, Lorella Praeli, is a Peruvian immigrant who lived in the US as an undocumented immigrant until three years ago. This hire echoes Clinton’s increasingly progressive stance on matters of immigration.

Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders also announced his plan for immigration reform over the summer. Like Clinton, Sanders supports a path to citizenship for the roughly 11 million individuals living in the United States without documentation, and is opposed to making English the official language of the US. He also voted against the amendment that would have blocked federal funding to sanctuary cities.

However, Sanders has been criticized by many immigration activists for his support of the theory that immigrants take jobs away from American citizens and depress wages for American workers. This view also makes him less amenable to granting non-US citizens work visas to enter the US.

As the Digest neared publication, Sanders promised to enact immigration reform during his first 100 days of office. His proposed actions go far beyond Obama’s executive action and include closing private detention centers and expanding deferred action programs like DAPA and DACA.

Republican candidates and undocumented immigrants

We recently covered many of the announced GOP candidates’ stances on immigration, but since May, Donald Trump and Ben Carson have emerged as unlikely frontrunners for the GOP nomination.

Donald Trump has not been shy about his feelings on immigrants and immigration, and usually delivers his opinions with distasteful and derogatory comments.

He would like to deport all 11 million immigrants living in the US today without papers. MSNBC news reported on the “draconian” measures that such a plan would entail and also commented that even if elected, it would be unlikely that Trump would be able to keep this promise.

Trump also supports building a wall along the southern border of the US. He would also end the H-1B visa program and birthright citizenship, as well as create criminal penalties for visa overstays.

Ben Carson, who has recently overtaken Trump in the polls, has a more moderate, but less developed, plan for how he would address immigration reform if elected. He favors a guest worker program, which would permit undocumented immigrants to come to the US to work in the “agricultural sphere.”

Carson, whose vague plan does not openly address a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants currently living within the United States, has stated that he remains open to the option. He has criticized Trump’s plan to deport all undocumented immigrants, saying “the logistics of it are difficult.”

Zooming in on New York immigration news

In October, the New York City Council announced the launch of the Young Women’s Initiative, which aims to address gender and racial inequality of girls and young women in New York City. As highlighted by this report from The New York Women’s Foundation, 40 percent of the 800,000 girls and young women, ages 9 to 24, living in the city are immigrants or the daughters of immigrants. Check out our detailed breakdown of the report and initiative.

CUNY also announced that it received a $3.2 million grant from the Andrew M. Mellon Foundation that will be used to facilitate and promote the education of immigrants and low-income students at LaGuardia Community College. The money will go towards training PhD students, who subsequently will teach and support approximately 2,500 undergraduates.

The Association of Mexican Professionals and Entrepreneurs received press attention for the work it is doing in providing scholarships and fostering business and networking connections for low-income Mexican immigrants. The organization was founded by Jorge Vélez, a wealthy Mexican immigrant, and seeks to bridge the gap between the wealthy Mexican 1 percent in New York City and the growing population of Mexican immigrants with lesser means in the area.