NEW YORK - Supporters of the New York State Dream Act say everything hinges on the state Senate - and the Long Island delegation could make all the difference. They lost a round last week, but Anita Halasz, executive director, Long Island Jobs with Justice, is still in the fight to get the financial aid for undocumented students into the final budget. She said the eight senators who represent Long Island could be the keys to passage.

"We're about 5 votes away, so Long Island is a very crucial part of this, being as we have so much voting power on Long Island. To get our lawmakers here to support the bill is monumental," Halasz said.

The state Senate declined to include Dream Act funding in its version of the budget last week, but both the Assembly and Gov. Andrew Cuomo have indicated they are likely to say yes, if the state Senate gives thumbs-up to including it in the final budget.

Marcy Suarez is a high school senior from Brentwood and a youth member of Make the Road New York. She said she was devastated by last week's Senate action, which could force her to put college on hold for a year or two, but she is not giving up.

"I know that having so many kids with just a high school diploma doesn't get a good enough job, but when kids manage to go to college and are willing to work as hard as I have been working, the jobs will be available to them to better our economy," Suarez said.

Halasz urged New Yorkers to keep pressing state lawmakers, if they do not want to remain behind states like Texas when it comes to offering equal educational opportunity.

"The strongest message is, yes, New York is missing out," Halasz said. "This is talent that is being wasted and these are opportunities that are not being offered to hard-working and very intelligent students who want to contribute to our economy in a very meaningful way."

Lawmakers in Texas, New Mexico, California, Washington state and Minnesota already have passed Dream Act measures in their states.




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A proposed amendment to strip Chicago of its sanctuary protections is scheduled to be voted on this week.

The change to the Welcome City Ordinance would allow Chicago police to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport undocumented residents arrested for crimes related to gangs, drugs, prostitution, human trafficking and sex crimes involving minors.

Ed Yohnka, director of communications and public policy for the ACLU of Illinois, said the move could be illegal.

"Changing the ordinance would put the city of Chicago at odds with the state policy around the Illinois Trust Act, where that would then situate the state's largest city in terms of cooperating with ICE officials when other people are not permitted to."

State law prohibits Illinois law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration agents. The proposed amendment will be voted on at Wednesday's city council meeting.

Alders Ray Lopez and Silvana Tabares said they proposed the tweak to appease the incoming Trump administration and deter action against law-abiding noncitizens. Yohnka called the idea unsettling.

"Changing that now when you have an administration that speaks with such cruelty and ferocity about newcomers is, I think, especially corrosive and troubling," Yohnka added.

Other concerns he raised are the lack of due process and how the change would undermine public safety.

Both Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker have said they would protect noncitizen immigrants. Pritzker would make one exception, arguing felons should be evicted from the country.


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Organizations supporting farm workers are ramping up efforts to protect immigrant laborers in light of looming mass-deportation threats.

About 40% of farm workers are not authorized to legally work in the United States, according to the Department of Agriculture. But Elizabeth Walle, communications director for the Food Chain Workers Alliance, said immigrants play critical roles in keeping North Carolina's grocery shelves stocked and local economies afloat.

She explained the possibility of large-scale immigration crackdowns has fueled anxiety among these workers, many of whom already endure harsh working conditions.

"Something that is a consistent problem for farm workers is, obviously, people using their status as a way to control them," she said. "Whether you are undocumented or if you are an H-2A visa temporary worker, that's really an ongoing theme that's obviously going to be ramped up."

About 100,000 farm workers call North Carolina home. Walle said these workers are essential, not only to the food system but the broader economy. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that in 2022, undocumented workers paid almost $700 million in North Carolina state and local taxes.

Beyond immigration threats, Walle cited growing concerns about potential rollbacks to labor protections. She said farm workers' advocates have long fought for safeguards against extreme heat and unsafe working conditions, but these gains are now at risk. She added that attacks on the National Labor Relations Board could weaken worker protections further.

"Definitely concerned about what's going to happen to the National Labor Relations Board," she said. "Elon Musk and other CEOs and corporations have been kind of attacking NLRB for the last couple years."

Walle noted some farmers are also voicing concern about potential disruptions to their workforce. She said she thinks increased reliance on H-2A visa workers to fill these gaps could heighten the risk of exploitation within the system. So, Walle said advocacy groups are trying to equip farm workers with the resources they need to navigate an uncertain future - such as legal or financial assistance.

"Focusing on stuff like 'Know your rights' trainings," she said, "which could be anything about how to deal with ICE, how to deal with your employer, how to prepare for being caught up in the immigration system. Also a lot of rapid response networks. "

North Carolina is home to almost 300,000 undocumented immigrants.


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"Deported veterans" may sound like an oxymoron. But it is not, and those veterans are working to get pardons in the last days of President Joe Biden's term.

Around the country, 94,000 veterans do not have citizenship, which means, if they violate certain laws, they are at risk of deportation regardless of their service record.

Laura Meza Alvarado, a formerly deported veteran living in Maryland on humanitarian parole, is part of a program to allow deported veterans to enter the U.S. to access Department of Veterans Affairs health care.

Meza was brought to the U.S. from Costa Rica in 1985 by her parents. She enlisted in the Army at 23 years old but did not receive her citizenship. She said there was a lot of confusion around her immigration status.

"The recruiter had mentioned some different things," Meza recounted. "They made promises like, 'Oh well, you know, when you go into the military, if you go to combat, you're going to be an automatic citizen.' So you hear different things from people, and it's just maybe a tactic to get you to enlist."

Any green-card holder enlisting in the military can file paperwork to become a citizen on their first day at boot camp. Meza pointed out confusion, in addition to dealing with military sexual trauma and PTSD while in the service, meant she left the service without her citizenship.

Meza then began using drugs and alcohol to cope with the trauma she experienced. She eventually was convicted of attempted robbery and was deported after serving two years in prison.

Danitza James, president of Repatriate Our Patriots, argued by the time Meza had committed a crime, she should have already been a citizen.

"That conviction, for her, bars her from applying for U.S. citizenship," James stressed. "Despite her honorable combat service, she's not eligible to obtain or seek naturalization, something that should have happened while she was in service."

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, Meza is barred from applying for citizenship because of the charge.

Deported veterans such as Meza are running up against the clock. President-elect Donald Trump campaigned this year on a promise of mass deportations. James noted Meza and deported veterans like her would be at risk under such policies. She argued Biden must honor his commitment to veterans.

"President Biden, this is something that you must honor, and these are the same veterans that fought alongside his son," James urged. "We owe it to them to act. It's a shame that we are good enough to serve and die for this country but not good enough to live and get a second chance in this country."

In July 2021, the Departments of Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs created the Immigrant Military Members and Veterans Initiative. At the end of 2023, more than 90 veterans had reentered the U.S. through the program.