Our guest speaker on Wednesday was a self-identified Undocumented Immigrant and as we noted in class, he rather passionately blamed the GOP for blocking various measures to create immigration reform on a national scale. For example, a recently proposed bill was defeated in the House of Representatives that would allow illegal immigrants that came to this country under the age of 15 to gain citizenship through military service. Personally I find this to be an excellent solution that increases our national security, allows for amnesty in a method that benefits all parties and generally is supported by most of America, therefore I can completely understand the frustration of our guest. The Republicans’ main priority is to shrink spending and reduce the size of the government, thus any immigration reform that requires taxpayer dollars is immediately met with hesitation or straight up denial. I don’t feel this method of governing to be effective and Congress’ 12% approval rating demonstrates this. The reality of the situation is illegal immigration will not go away on its own. Constructing a fence along our Mexican border does not prevent people from overstaying their visas, however allowing citizenship through honorable military service is more than fair I believe. As a fiscally conservative, socially liberal, libertarian but not really, type of person, I value issues based on what I think, not on the mantra or rhetoric of our main two parties. Some common complaints against our undocumented immigrants include that they take our jobs and don’t contribute to our economy. However citizenship through education or military service clearly demonstrate a desire to succeed, assimilate, and thrive as an American. It benefits neither party to stalemate the issue.
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2014/04/05/gop-immigration-supporters-see-military-service-as-path-to-citizenship/
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/04/04/house-conservatives-block-modest-gop-immigration-proposal/
Bill A2597A-2013, otherwise known as the ‘Dream Act’ lost in the New York State Senate on Monday March 17th 2014. The bill was voted upon and was narrowly defeated with 30 votes in favor and 29 against, with the minimum being 32 needed to pass it. The law would have set aside 25 million dollars in a ‘Dream Fund’ annually providing financial aid to college students of illegal status. Currently New York is one of 14 states to allow illegal immigrants to attend in-state universities, given they pay the tuition of course. Proponents argued this law was an effort to lessen the stress on these aspiring students so that they can one day succeed in this country, despite the circumstances of their birth. However the opposition was that these 25 million dollars would be going to law breakers when it could potentially be used either to repair the school system itself, or offer more scholarships for American citizens. I understand both sides of the argument however I tend to favor the fiscally conservative model. Until a budget is balanced, this fund would increase the debt that New York State possesses by using tax money to cover people who aren’t recognized as legal residents. Besides, granting access to education for illegal immigrants is a fantastic step in immigration reform, however after attending college, the lack of citizenship cripples most of the opportunities they go to college to experience in the first place. It is much more important to allow a path for amnesty and citizenship on a federal level such as the federal version of the Dream Act. Immigration should be a non partisan issue but spending money will always be hotly debated. My reasoning is if a law is created to benefit illegal immigrants seeking college education, the government has a responsibility to tackle the issue head on. These people came here to succeed and are in a limbo of quasi-recognized status, and they deserve at least a method to assimilate if they show the desire to succeed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/24/nyregion/after-dream-acts-narrow-defeat-focus-is-on-timing-of-the-vote.html
Hello! My name is Jason Joseph Vayner, I am 18 years old and live in Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, NY. I am (obviously) a student at Macaulay @ Hunter and my intended major is Chemistry and am currently on the Pre Medical track. Although Chemistry will be my focus in college, I am considering minoring in Religious Studies for personal knowledge of religions and cultures around the world. In my free time I enjoy swimming, chess, biking, playing video games and video editing for myself and other people. I have volunteered bi-weekly in a senior center for the past 3 years and I also babysit my siblings who are 16, 4, and 3. However, I’m not sure who is more difficult to handle, the toddlers or the emotional teenager…
My father is from Odessa, Ukraine and my mother is from Bobruisk, Belarus, both of which are former republics of the Soviet Union. Their parents took them to America to escape religious and cultural persecution in order to have a better life for their children. They fled from the USSR to Austria, then Rome and from there my family split up for Israel, Australia, and the US. My parents met in Brooklyn and I was born a year and one day after their marriage on August 15, 1995. Due to immigrating to America at the ages of 10 and 15, (my mother and father respectively), we speak Runglish at home, sentences that combine the two languages Russian and English,and my broken Russian speaking skills reflect that.
