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New York to D.C.: We'll Figure Out Immigration on Our Own, Since You Can't
Activists aren't the only ones fed up with Congress’ inaction on immigration reform. The country's largest states—California, New York, and Texas—have been looking for ways to take matters into their own hands when it comes to granting rights to undocumented residents.
In New York, Democratic state Sen. Gustavo Rivera and Assembly Member Karim Camara, along with a coalition of supporters, introduced the New York is Home Act. If passed in the next legislative session, this unprecedented bill would create a path to state citizenship for tax-paying non-citizen residents of New York who have lived in the state for three years and can provide proof of identity.
If it succeeds, a whopping 2.7 million New Yorkers could gain those benefits, as well as being able to vote and run for office in state and local elections, be eligible for Medicaid, and would gain human rights protections against discrimination based on their citizenship status.
Does this sound like a fair Bill, or way to get Congress to act?