Thursday, 3 May 2012
Managing
partner, Wildes & Weinberg P.C.;
Former
Mayor of Englewood, NJ
Will Governor
Cuomo Seize A Major
Opportunity With The DREAM Act?
Posted:
04/ 2/2012 7:28 am
Governor Cuomo's
surprising silence on the New York DREAM Act is business as usual for
many elected officials, but it's disappointing coming from him. The
Senate bill and its companion legislation in the Assembly would
provide financial assistance to immigrant students of illegal status
who meet established criteria.
The chief executive
of the Empire State, who was heralded for his leadership on same-sex
marriage less than a year ago, is sitting noticeably on the sidelines
when it comes to immigration reform. Being that the Governor has not
publicly supported the DREAM Act legislation, many wondered whether
it would be included in the budget as an addition to the Tuition
Assistance Program
(TAP) - at a relatively modest $17
million expense
to the state.
But, an agreement
for the budget was reached with no such provision for TAP included,
leaving immigrant residents of New York with a familiar feeling:
disappointment.
It is a strange
departure from the apparent understanding Governor Cuomo has of
investing resources to improve infrastructure throughout the state.
What about an investment in the most critical infrastructure we have
- people?
Surely, support from
over a third of the state's Senators
and Assemblypersons,
as well as the full backing
of Mayor Bloomberg, Senator Gillibrand, and City Council Speaker
Christine Quinn, provides the Governor all the political cover he
needs to support the bill. Perhaps the Governor feels that getting
the necessary votes from Republicans would burn too much political
capital, something he is not willing to do with the Minimum Wage
legislation on deck.
We remember the
Marriage Equality Act was passed at the close of session last June
with considerable concessions from the Governor to conservatives to
get it done. I suspect that if this bill does become law, it will be
done in much the same way. This is far from a guarantee. Let us also
remember Harry Reid trying to insert the federal DREAM Act in at the
close of session in late December 2010, only to fail in getting it
passed.
The best chance for
passage is for three Republican Senators representing large immigrant
populations to put their support behind the bill. Namely, Lee Zeldin,
Jack Martins, and Carl Marcellino - all of whom represent districts
on Long Island with strong Hispanic populations. With three months
left in session and the Minimum Wage and Hydrofracking among the few
pieces of major legislation on the docket this year, the hope is that
something can still get done in the next few months.
It is well-known
that there is more in play here: a possible Presidential run in 2016.
However, I see this as a reason to get something done rather than a
reason not to.
With the Obama
Administration deporting people in record
numbers
and GOP candidates routinely one-upping one another in terms of how
insensitive they can be to the wishes of the Hispanic electorate, one
might see this as time of great opportunity for a rising star of the
Democratic Party. With his track record in just his first two years
in office, he would at once be able to rally a disillusioned
progressive base with his endorsement of marriage equality and a
dejected Hispanic electorate clamoring for their voices to be heard.
This is an
opportunity not only for Andrew Cuomo, but for the United States as a
whole. Immigration is in our DNA, it is a vital stitch in the fabric
of America from coast to coast. When we have the opportunity to do
the right thing we have an obligation to seize it. It is our charge
as citizens to make it known that this is important to us and we
expect our elected officials to provide the leadership in making it
happen.
"From her
beacon-hand glows world-wide welcome."
May the light never
go out.
Deportation is at stake
in Rutgers webcam trial
Associated
Press
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. —
Jurors considering the fate of a former Rutgers University student accused of
watching his roommate's intimate liaison on a webcam won't be deciding just
whether he'll go to prison — they also could indirectly determine whether he's
deported to his native India.
Dharun Ravi, now 20, is
accused of viewing a few seconds of his roommate's encounter with another man
in their dorm room and telling people about it in text messages, tweets and in
person. He could face years in prison if convicted of charges including invasion
of privacy and bias intimidation, a hate crime.
Lawyers gave their
summations Tuesday in the case, which has gotten enormous attention since the
events of September 2010, when the roommate, Tyler Clementi, jumped to his
death from the George Washington Bridge.
Ravi could also be sent back to India, where he was born
and remains a citizen, if convicted. The risk of deportation is highest if he
is convicted on the most serious charges, said Michael Wildes, a New York City
immigration lawyer who is not involved in the case.
Last year, prosecutors offered Ravi, who is in the U.S.
legally, a plea bargain that called for no prison time — and help avoiding
deportation.
"The decision was made by his legal team to roll the
dice," Wildes said. "We'll see whether it was a good decision."
Immigration authorities could seek to have Ravi deported
if he is convicted of any crime that lands him a prison sentence of a year or
more, Wildes said.
In theory, all 15 of the
charges he faces — among them are hindering apprehension, tampering with a
witness and tampering with evidence — could result in prison time. But
incarceration is likely only if he's convicted of one of the two second-degree
bias intimidation charges he faces.
The government could also seek to deport Ravi if he's
convicted of a crime it considers to involve "moral turpitude,"
Wildes said, whether he's imprisoned for it or not. The list of those crimes is
long.
Any deportation decision would have to be made by a
federal immigration judge. And, Wildes said, Ravi could argue that his
deportation would harm U.S. citizens, or that he should remain in the country
because he has lived here legally with his family since he was a young boy and
because he has no prior criminal record.
As for the immigration help from state authorities,
Wildes said such offers are usually "empty promises."
The trial — which
included testimony from about 30 witnesses over 12 days, in addition to the
closing arguments — focused on a few days in the Rutgers dorm where Ravi and
Clementi, both 18-year-olds from well-off New Jersey suburbs, were randomly
assigned to be first-year roommates.
Jurors asked for a copy
of the judge's instructions to them on Wednesday afternoon, after less than an
hour of deliberations. Judge Glenn Berman said he didn't have a copy to give
them, but said he would answer specific questions if they had them. A bit
later, they asked about one of the bias intimidation charges, wanting to know
definitions of "intimidation" and "purpose."
The jury went home for
the night after about four hours of deliberation and no quick verdict.
There are relatively few
factual disputes in the case. The challenge for jurors could be deciding
whether the laws apply to what Ravi is alleged to have done.
Ravi can be convicted of
intimidation if he's also found guilty of an underlying invasion-of-privacy
charge. And to convict him of bias intimidation, jurors would have to be
convinced that he intended to intimidate Clementi or his guest, or that
Clementi reasonably believed Ravi wanted to intimidate him because he was gay.
Clementi's death was one
in a string of suicides by young gays around the country in September 2010 and
became probably the best known. President Barack Obama commented on it in an
online video, as did talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.
Tuesday, 6 March 2012
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