Posted on 01/17/2010 5:44:08 AM PST by StatenIsland
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- For years, while the rest of the city teemed with immigrants from across the world, Staten Island remained a bastion of native New Yorkers and first- and second-generation Europeans.
Not any more.
The Island has the fastest growing immigrant population in the city - a population that has grown by 41 percent since the last Census in 2000, and more than doubled since the 1990 Census. At least one-fifth of all current Islanders were born outside the United States.
These newest Islanders -- who come from Mexico, Italy, China, Ukraine and Russia -- are profoundly transforming the borough like no other time in its history.
And a hot-button debate over how the country should deal with this latest wave of immigrants will ultimately decide exactly how that transformation will continue.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg will discuss his campaign for comprehensive immigration reform in his State of the City Address this week. He plans to make it a lynchpin of his third term, assembling a broad, bipartisan coalition to focus on the issue just as he did with illegal guns during his second term.
FOUR-POINT STRATEGY
According to the mayor's aides, the campaign will focus on four policy aims: Reducing incentives for employers to hire illegal workers; increasing visa quotas for skilled workers and laborers; more effective border control and security; and finding a path to citizenship for the nation's estimated 12 million immigrants -- about 500,000 in New York City -- who live in the country illegally.
There are few topics more controversial than granting amnesty to illegal immigrants. Those in opposition say it is simply unfair to reward people for breaking the law, when so many others have come to the country through legal channels. Others claim that adding millions of low-skilled workers would severely drain government welfare services.
Several rent studies refute that claim, however, concluding these new citizens would add billions in additional tax revenue and consumer spending, help create hundreds of thousands of jobs and, theoretically, raise the "wage floor" for all workers. An amnesty program would also allow the government to shift more of its resources to anti-terrorism.
One study, released this week by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, found immigrants comprised 43 percent of the city's workforce and accounted for $215 billion, or 32 percent, of the city's economic activity. The 10 city neighborhoods with the greatest concentration of immigrants had stronger economic growth than the rest of the city between 2000 and 2007.
The study also found immigrants make up the majority of workers in personal services, construction, leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing, and half of the workers in health and social services.
That holds true on the Island's North Shore, where many immigrants work as day laborers, nurses and nannies. Just as the comptroller's study found, the Island's immigrant population has shown a penchant for entrepreneurship - such as the Mexican community, which has helped to bring an economic revival to Port Richmond, and the Russian community in South Beach.
The newest residents of the borough may come from different countries than their counterparts in other parts of the city, but they come to the Island for the same reasons, said Javier Valdes, deputy director of Make the Road New York, a Port Richmond-based immigrant advocacy group.
"They are looking for jobs, a safe place to live, and good schools for their kids. They are committed to the Island the same way as any other residents," Valdes said.
Valdes' organization is part of a coalition of 16 Island groups pressing the city's congressional delegation to make an immigration reform bill a priority this year - a campaign that was kicked off Thursday with a rally on the steps of borough hall. They want Rep. Michael McMahon (D-Staten Island/Brooklyn) to take a leading role in shaping immigration policies.
McMahon said he is concentrating his efforts elsewhere.
"Currently, my focus is on jobs and reducing our unemployment rate and deficit. Congress tackled so much last year with much success, but I believe that our priority should be getting people in our country back to work, plain and simple," he said, when asked by the Advance about his position on the issue.
But the pressure to take a stance on immigration reform will continue to mount for McMahon, who faces a re-election this November in a district that is not only ethnically, but politically diverse.
Many observers feel immigration reform will be a tougher political battle than health care reform.
If focus groups are any indication, the issue of amnesty will prove to be the biggest dilemma, according to David Dyssegaard Kallick, director of the Immigration Research Initiative for the Fiscal Policy Institute in Manhattan.
"At the beginning of the conversation, they are upset that the country allowed illegal immigration to continue for so long. But then it turns to -- 'What are we going to do about it now?'" Kallick said. "No one is prepared to say, 'Let's just deport 12 million people and then we can start again.'"
Even immigrants in the borough fall on either side of the issue.
Arkadiy Fridman, a Russian community leader and president of the Staten Island Community Center in South Beach, fears granting amnesty to illegal immigrants would set a bad precedent.
"I am not against immigrants, of course. I am against people taking advantage of the system. You have to wait in line like everyone else. You have to pay your taxes, do whatever you have to do to earn citizenship," said Fridman.
Immigrants and criminal invaders are two different animals.
Used to be heavily Italian. Still has many. Little Italy to Brooklyn to Staten Island was the migratory pattern.
It seems we just can't have an immigration reform plan without amnesty.
Sounds like the pro-Illegal Alien, anti-American forces are at it again....using BS stats to push Illegal Alien Amnesty.
And, Bloomberg has no problem deporting Americans from NYC to other parts of America....I guess that is to have more room for economically-destructive Illegal Aliens
Yeah Bloomy, immigration is not a mayors department.
As I’ve been saying for a year now.
Their arrogance is based in the confidence that they will cram through amnesty this year and will not have to worry about the midterms. This will be the ultimate EFF YOU to the independent and moderates and conservative Dimocrats who put these communists in office.
By the way, Obammie the Commie and his komrades will use the Haitian refugees as a catalyst for the amnesty issue.
Then put into place a system for illegals to function here legally..........NOT AMNESTY!
If amnesty is given to the 20 million illegals already here, the voting demographics forever.
I cannot for the life of me figure out why republicans so fervently push amnesty even when it could very well mean an end to the conservative cause.
I heard Rush devalue the comments of one of his callers attempting to highlight the fact that illegals are burdening the healthcare system.
If we want to begin to straighten out the healthcare mess, get control over illegal immigration and those who are weighing down the system.
Rush blew this off. “This is not about illegal immigration, it's about healthcare”. In essence.
Totally disagree. Not sure why republicans keep trying to separate the two issues.
Come on down to Texas and witness for ones self an emergency room in and around Houston......filled with immigrants, legal and illegal, every day, day after day.
They pay their initial $50 bucks, then give fictitious addresses, then disappear. Leaving the taxpayers to foot the bill through increased hospital district taxes to cover the shortfall.
Boom......that's it in a nutshell.
“Several rent studies refute that claim, however, concluding these new citizens would add billions in additional tax revenue and consumer spending, help create hundreds of thousands of jobs and, theoretically, raise the “wage floor” for all workers. An amnesty program would also allow the government to shift more of its resources to anti-terrorism.”
Wow. What a huge, soft, wet, stinking load of horse $hit.
They are spending as much as they will ever spend, and they are here because they are working under the table. And they were hired to work under the table because that is cheaper for scumbag employers. They will continue to work under the table so tax revenue won’t increase a dime. They will continue to take social services illegally by simply claiming they have no insurance and no means to pay and showing up at the ER for their bandaids.
And these leftist jackass “reporters” really expect us to believe they give a rat’s ass about terrorism!!!???? Bwwwaaaahhhhaaaahhhaaahhhaaa. That’s a good one!!!
“Arkadiy Fridman, a Russian community leader and president of the Staten Island Community Center in South Beach, fears granting amnesty to illegal immigrants would set a bad precedent.”
He is absolutely correct.
And, to risk being flamed, it was a huge mistake when Reagan granted amnesty. It set the rules for what we are facing today.
We need to wrap a tourniquet around ALL immigration until we get our house in order.
Bloomers bought his third term. Simply bought the votes to overturn the law he supported for term limits.
He’s an unreconstructed socialist. Despite the fact that he is a billionaire businessman his personal priorities are no different than the typical NY jewish voter.
(Translation from PC-speak:
"Quisling traitor to push mass amnesty for illegal alien invaders."
ping
To Bloomberg:
Way to go, sparky!
I guess NYC has no other problems to deal with.
Next Year's Census Count Promises to Rejigger Political Map http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125114932446354887.html
*That is if the census was conducted correctly. With the census in the hands of Obamao you can be assured that everyone in every cemetary, every dog and cat and all the illegals in the bleu states will be listed as citizens.
I'll bet you money these "studies" were put together by a bunch of slumlords who are licking theirs chops over the prospect of filling their slums which they can't rent to anyone else with newly minted faux citizens.
This would also be the first case in my long years of studying economics where dumping a huge new supply of workers into the tight labor market where the "wage floor" for all workers would be raised.
Under that reasoning, we might as well move the entire third world to the United States and everyone's wages would surge so much we'd all be rich.
Exactly. The “logical extension” of their claims flutters off into cloudcuckooland.
And let’s not forge that the reason those slumlords are desperate to fill those vacancies is due in part to rent control.
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