FPI in the News

April 8, 2019. This article highlights the need for licenses and that "immigrants and their advocates have already gotten access to such licenses in a dozen states including California, Colorado and Illinois, some of them accepting state tax returns as identification. They are now targeting roughly a half-dozen states where they see a friendlier political landscape this year. That includes Wisconsin and New Jersey, where Democratic governors succeeded Republicans, and New York, where Democrats now are in total control of the Legislature." The article points [...]

April 8, 2019. This article reports that Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the first Dominican-American member of Congress and himself a former undocumented immigrant, wrote Gov. Cuomo, state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie a letter expressing his support to allow the state to issue driver’s licenses to people regardless of their immigration status — including those who are undocumented.. “According to the Fiscal Policy Institute, the influx of one-time driver’s license and vehicle registration fees could bring the state as much as $24 [...]

April 8, 2019. This article personalizes how losing TPS (temporary protected status) will personally impact a NYC family as well as the wider implications for our economy. The U.S economy could also be negatively impacted by the end of TPS and the resulting departure of hundreds of thousands of immigrants, says the Fiscal Policy Institute, a nonprofit organization that studies public policies. New York is home to more than 16,200 TPS holders from El Salvador. They contribute an annual Gross Domestic Product of $958,3 million, according [...]

April 7, 2019. This article discusses the concerns about a possible failure to properly account for New York's population in the 2020 Census which could result in the potential loss of 2 seats in the House of Representatives and billions in federal funds. Deepening the worry is Governor Andrew Cuomo's delay in filling his appointments to the Complete Count Commission which was done after the Commission's report was sue and the state budget allocation of $20 million - an amount reached without formal input from [...]

April 5, 2019. This article discusses the release of a study by Global Detroit that demonstrates potential for immigrants to help stabilize Detroit neighborhoods through homeownership. The article goes on to highlight that Global Detroit is advocating for investments that would provide immigrants with resources such as financial literacy training to help reduce the barriers of immigrants becoming homeowners, which include less knowledge about credit scores and lower usage of bank accounts. The author goes on to note that the study uses data released by FPI [...]

April 4, 2019. This article discusses the Trump administration's claims that illegal immigration costs the United States $200 billion a year, which experts challenge. The author goes on to note that undocumented immigrants are not eligible to receive public benefits with the exception of medical treatment for emergencies, emergency disaster relief, immunizations and pregnant women are eligible for Women, Infants & Children (WIC). Trump tweeted in December that the estimated 11,300,000 undocumented immigrants who live in the United States present a staggering bill to U.S. [...]

April 3, 2019. In this op-ed the author discusses their support for expanding access to driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants. The author argues that allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers licenses would make roads safer, strengthen trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities, and help immigrants integrate. Mickey Belosi, the author, also argues that in places like rural New York, a driver's licenses is a necessity and that the 2005 REAL ID Act allows states the opportunity to develop a multi-tier driver’s license system that has [...]

April 1, 2019. This article discusses the disappointment of advocates across New York State with the allocated $20 million funding for the 2020 census included the governor's state budget, which was released Sunday March 31, 2019. The author goes on to highlight that advocates were asking the state to provide $40 million for community based organizations to do outreach and help with 2020 census work, an estimate calculated by the Fiscal Policy Institute. The author goes on to note that New York has a lot to [...]