FRANKFORT, Ky. - The so-called "Gang of Eight" immigration proposal in the U.S. Senate, which includes a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, has the backing of most Kentuckians, according to a new poll. Almost two-thirds (63 percent) of voters surveyed in Kentucky either "strongly or somewhat support" the legislation. That mirrors the trend among voters in 28 other states where polling was conducted.

Jonathan Bialosky, director of the Maxwell Street Legal Clinic for immigrants in Lexington, said he was surprised by the size of the majority.

"As someone who advocates for the rights of immigrants, I think this is an important issue and feel exactly the same way," he declared. "The current proposal isn't 100 percent perfect, certainly, but I do think it's a step in the right direction."

Pollster Tom Jensen said they found bipartisan support for the immigration proposal in blue and purple states as well in red states such as Kentucky.

"It's gotten a little depressing over the last few years in most of our issue polling, because everything we poll, either Democrats support it and Republicans don't, or Republicans support it and Democrats don't," the poll taker observed. "And it's a little bit uplifting to actually see something that Democrats and Republicans agree on."

The Gang of Eight legislation is being billed as a "tough but fair path to citizenship." It would require undocumented immigrants currently living in the U.S. to pay a penalty, learn English, pass a criminal background check, pay taxes and wait at least 13 years before they are eligible for citizenship.

Well over eight out of every ten voters polled said it was important for the U.S. to fix its immigration system this year (83 percent in Kentucky, 87 percent overall), a result not lost on pollster Brock McCleary.

"Republicans - conservative, moderate, whatever they may be - have found that impeding progress on reform, standing in the way of getting this problem solved, has really exacerbated it," he said.

As an advocate for immigrants, Bialosky said he's encouraged by support for the current proposal in the Senate, but he also worries that reform is often too focused on border security and labor.

"We need to do this wholesale, we need to take a commonsense approach and also have as the foremost concern the humanitarian needs of this population in our country," he declared.

The poll was conducted jointly by two polling firms, one Democratic and one Republican.

Poll results by state are at bit.ly/18CjMZiz.




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Alabama has long been at the forefront of voting rights issues in the United States and despite some progress, advocates said residents continue to face barriers at the ballot box.

In a recent discussion held in Montgomery, the Center for American Progress brought together voting rights experts to shed light on the ongoing struggle against voter suppression in the state.

Kathy Jones, president of the League of Women Voters-Alabama, was on the panel and highlighted ongoing efforts hindering equitable access.

"Just this past year, we've had Wes Allen, and his office has eliminated the phone app for voter registration and being able to check your polling places," Jones pointed out. "Which is a real hardship for people who rely on their phones to be able to do the business that they need to do if they need to register to vote."

The latest way Jones noted ballot access is being blocked is the recent passage of a law criminalizing assistance with absentee ballot applications. Supporters said they believe the measure will prevent ballot harvesting.

She added other ways of restricting access to the ballot box include regulating early voting, voting by mail, voter registration and voter-list maintenance. Other laws bar thousands of persons who have served felony convictions from regaining the right to vote.

JaTaune Bosby Gilchrist, executive director of the ACLU of Alabama, said in response to the challenges, federal laws being proposed would bolster voting rights across the country. One of them is the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

"The John Lewis Voting Rights Act would essentially allow us a level of equitability across the board from, as well as the Freedom to Vote Act, making voting a holiday, ensuring early voting," Bosby Gilchrist emphasized. "Alabama is one of three states without early voting, including Mississippi and New Hampshire."

The Freedom to Vote Act would help expand voter registration, limit removing voter from voter rolls and even outlines criteria to prevent gerrymandering. Advocates also see engaging young voters and increasing overall voter turnout as ways to combat measures hindering access.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Pennsylvania is among the states where massive protests and tent encampments opposing the war in Gaza are growing.

Elez Beresin-Scher, a sociology student at Bryn Mawr College, is at the Free Gaza encampment on campus. She explained there are about 44 tents full of students who have been sleeping there since Saturday night.

She spoke to Sonali Kolhatkar on the TV and radio show Yes! Presents: Rising Up with Sonali.

"We are here because our college has $5 million of its endowment invested in Israeli technology," Beresin-Scher pointed out. "We know that this money is complicit in the genocide of Palestinians; over 30,000 Palestinians have been murdered by the State of Israel."

Beresin-Scher added they are calling on the college and the university president's office to divest Israeli holdings and endorse a cease-fire resolution passed by 89% of the student body about a month ago. She added they will be at the encampment indefinitely until their two demands are met.

Pro-Israel groups argued the war is justified given the massacre perpetrated by Hamas, which kicked off the most recent violence. Beresin-Scher noted they are taking a significant risk but they believe genocide is occurring in Palestine and they want to see it end.

"We're recognizing that Palestinian students have been murdered, or are not able to continue their education because every university in Gaza has been bombed, has been destroyed," Beresin-Scher emphasized. "That's the perspective that we're coming from."

Beresin-Scher has been a member of Jewish Voice for Peace since her freshman year, and said it is upsetting to hear the encampments are being portrayed as anti-Semitic. She noted it is something she has never encountered as someone who has organized with Students for Justice in Palestine.

This story was produced based on original reporting by Sonali Kolhatkar for Yes! Media.

Massive protests and tent encampments opposing the war in Gaza are growing at universities across California, with classes canceled at the University of California-Los Angeles Wednesday, after tensions boiled over into violence there.

Police arrested 25 students at California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt Tuesday.

An organizer named Rithik from the Students for Gaza encampment at San Francisco State University recently spoke to Sonali Kolhatkar for her TV and radio show Yes! Presents: Rising Up with Sonali.

"Students everywhere are appalled at the current genocide occurring in Gaza that is being perpetrated by Israel and backed by the United States," Rithik stated. "We understand that our taxpayer money is not going towards our own education, but rather to fund this genocide and wars of aggression across the world."

At San Francisco State, students are demanding the California State University System divest any holdings in companies selling arms to Israel, assurances the student protesters will not be sanctioned by the school, and for the university president to make a statement opposing Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and declaring the war a genocide.

Pro-Israel groups argued the war is justified given the massacre perpetrated by Hamas, which kicked off the most recent violence. They also worry Jewish students will feel intimidated on campus. However, a Jewish student named Jacob at San Francisco State said it has not been his experience.

"I don't think we've ever felt that any of the actions being taken in the name of anti-Zionism and anti-colonialism are antisemitic," Jacob asserted. "Never felt unsafe, never felt unwelcome in these spaces. Anti-Zionism is not antisemitism."

San Francisco State President Lynn Mahoney has emphasized the university's support for peaceful protest and said the university has already taken steps to divest.

This story was produced based on original reporting by Sonali Kolhatkar for Yes! Media.


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