Immigs cheer elex bill
But Council GOPer sees ‘devaluation of citizenship’
Immigrants rejoiced — and Republicans recoiled — after learning of a new City Council push to permit immigrants with work authorizations to vote in city elections.
“It’s definitely a great step,” said Sari Mendoza, who is not a citizen but is permitted to work in the U.S. “It’s the right step for getting our voices accounted for.”
Mendoza, 20, of the Bronx, is authorized to work in the U.S. through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, as it’s more commonly known.
She is one of at least 500,000 noncitizen city residents who could gain the right to vote in mayoral and other city elections if the Council bill becomes law.
The latest version of the bill — an earlier iteration was floated in 2010, but failed to gain traction — would apply to noncitizens with green cards and work authorizations who have lived in the city for at least 30 days.
The bill’s sponsor, City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez (D-Manhattan), said he has nearly two dozen backers among fellow Council members. But some of his colleagues have already come out against it.
“It’s a devaluation of citizenship,” said Councilman Joseph Borelli (R-S.I.). “And it should serve as a warning to other people around the country that this is what will happen if they keep electing progressive Democrats.”
If the measure does pass, it could face legal arguments over whether it is consistent with the state Constitution, said Richard Flanagan, a CUNY political science professor.
Flanagan, who believes it would withstand such legal challenges, said it would also pose serious questions for elected officials trying to hold on to their current perches.
“The immediate impact would be a lot of uncertainty for incumbents,” he said. “It’s just unpredictable.”
Jin Ming Cao, 36, is in the process of applying for his green card and would welcome the right to vote if he gets it.
“It’s good,” he said. “A lot of elected officials aren’t doing the right thing for the working people.”
Mendoza, who came to the U.S. from Mexico in 2006, said many of her immigrant neighbors are cheated out of wages, harassed by landlords and afraid to report crimes to the police — and they have no say over any of it as far as electoral politics go.
“I’m planning to go to law school,” she said. “But I can’t take the bar exam in New York State.”