Monthly Archives: February 2018

February 26, 2018. In this article the author, Clarence Hightower, argues that immigrants are who made America what it is today. He discusses the present contributions of immigrants to the U.S. by citing research, including FPI’s, which shows that immigrants are highly educated, very likely to be business owners, are homeowners, and their children are less likely to be involved in the criminal justice system. He goes on to draw attention to the demonizing actions and rhetoric from the federal administration surrounding the decisions to [...]

February 23, 2018. In this op-ed the author, Sandy Mcpherson Carrubba Geary, discusses her view on immigration, which is that America should live up to its poem that is engraved on the Statue of Liberty and to continue to allow refugees and immigrants migrate to the United States. She goes on to discuss how her family sponsored a Vietnamese family who spent time in a refugee camp and that they became very successful in the U.S. Geary explains that their family moved to Texas and [...]

February 15, 2018. As Amazon nears a decision on the location for its second headquarters, it's weighing a number of factors about each city: access to transit systems, the size and makeup of the local workforce, available real estate and tax breaks. Among the offers that have become public: Newark, New Jersey, has floated $7 billion in incentives. Chicago would reportedly kick in at least $2 billion. And Maryland has put more than $5 billion on the table for its Montgomery County contender.  All of [...]

February 14, 2018. This article by the Blue Mountain Center featured on their website, discusses how the Trump administration's immigration policies may actually hurt upstate cities like Utica, who has seen positive growth and prosperity since resettling refugees. It discusses how refugees have helped reverse population decline in Utica, they have opened businesses, helped spur urban revitalization, have added to the workforce, purchased homes and have become active members of the community. The article goes on to talk about the great life enhancing and integration [...]

February 14, 2018. President Trump outlined his long-promised and long-awaited infrastructure plan Monday.  Billed as a $1.5 trillion plan, it only includes $200 billion in federal money, leaving state and local governments largely on the hook for the rest of the money. The plan says the $200 billion in federal money — which would come from cuts made elsewhere — will spur as much as $1.5 trillion to $1.7 trillion in development over the next 10 years. President Trump indicated the massive plan to replace [...]

February 8, 2018. An editorial in The Buffalo News discusses the impact of the federal administration's cut to legal immigration and "chain migration" in Buffalo. Although the Trump Administration has created a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, he is hurting upstate cities like Buffalo by cutting legal migration. Buffalo was already hurt by the cut in refugee resettlement. Immigrants will only be able to bring their children and spouses to the U.S., not other family members. The editorial goes on to discuss how immigrants and refugees [...]