1300 March for Immigrant Rights in New York

From the NY Immigration Coalition:

Tuesday, March 13. On an unseasonably mild March day, 1,300 immigrants and their allies representing 94 organizations warmed up Albany even more. Coming from all corners of the state, they converged on Albany for the New York Immigration Coalition’s 15th Annual Immigrants’ Day of Action. The day marked an inspiring and impressive feat in civic engagement and participatory democracy.

With urgency, the diverse gathering—including undocumented students, immigrant parents, teachers, faith leaders, advocates, and service providers–called for passage of NY DREAM legislation as a top priority. With thousands of undocumented students graduating from NY state high schools every year, passing NY DREAM legislation would benefit New York enormously and uphold the state’s heritage as a welcoming beacon that values the contributions of immigrants.

In Albany, community members held signs and loudly chanted that immigrants are New York, a state that is home to approximately 4.2 million immigrants and accounts for more than one in five New Yorkers.

Participants in this day of action presented a detailed list of priorities to help strengthen communities, rebuild the economy, and position New York as a model of common sense and justice for the nation. Among other priorities, participants recognized the Governor’s establishment of an Office for New Americans and—in rallies and in meetings with policy makers–urged the administration to strengthen the citizenship and other immigrant services it would offer. Other key priorities included ensuring immigrants are included in health reform measures at the state level, preventing state and local law enforcement agencies from engaging in immigration enforcement, facilitating immigrant parent engagement and providing immigrant students the tools they need to succeed and obtain a high school diploma. Read more….

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