skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Advocates Push the "Dollars and Sense" of Immigration Reform

play audio
Play

Thursday, November 13, 2008   

New York, NY — President-elect Obama is being pressured to take quick action on the economy, and New York immigration reform advocates say a path to legalization for undocumented workers makes both "dollars and sense."

Saru Jayaraman, co-director of Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, says with 13 million workers, restaurants are the nation's largest private sector employer, and the largest private contributor to job growth in New York. And, she says, the industry's driving force is foreign-born workers, including a significant number who are undocumented.

"In New York City, 40 percent of all restaurant workers are undocumented and 70 percent are foreign-born. Without immigrants, the industry would just shut down. This is one of the few industries that’s somewhat strong and stable through this economic crisis."

More than 100 New Yorkers who are concerned about immigration reform are in California today to sign onto a national "compact for racial justice." Among them is Rinku Sen, author of the The Accidental American and executive director of the Applied Research Center, the compact's host. He says the compact makes the case that the nation cannot escape its biggest problems unless it includes the foreign-born in the solution.

"We are going to need to be looking at the long-term problems, and the inclusion of immigrants is key to achieving racial justice in any other area; in healthcare, in job creation, in education."

A new Zogby poll finds a majority of Americans still favor cracking down on employers that hire undocumented workers, while the restaurant industry argues it can’t grow under the constant threat of raids. The Restaurant Opportunities Centers United hopes the new president will end the raids by executive order in January.

The compact may be viewed online at www.arc.org



get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021