Immigration

November 13, 2017. In this op-ed by Karthick Ramakrishnan, he argues that New York is behind California, Connecticut, Illinois, and Washington, in regards to immigration policies that protect immigrants and help economic growth. He goes on to argue that Governor Cuomo, who is seeking his third term, has a weak immigration record and if he plans to run in the 2020 presidential election, he needs to change that in order to win votes. Ramakrishnan argues that Governor Cuomo could enact many of the proposed policies [...]

November 1, 2017. This article, which was also featured on the front page of The New York Times, tells the story of Gam Aung, a refugee from Burma that started his own sushi counters. Although he has not finished high school and not yet mastered the English language, he lives what he calls the “American Dream.” Many may not know that their sushi is in fact made by people from Burma, and assume the makers are Japanese. This article also highlights the success story of [...]

October 29, 2017. This article, featured on the front page of The New York Times, tells the story of Gam Aung, a refugee from Burma that started his own sushi counters. Although he has not finished high school and not yet mastered the English language, he lives what he calls the "American Dream." Many may not know that their sushi is in fact made by people from Burma, and assume the makers are Japanese. This article also highlights the success story of Philip Maung, who even [...]

October 11, 2017. In an article discussing the Trump administration's decision to cut the number of refugee admissions in half, David Dyssegaard Kallick, FPI's Deputy Director and Director of Immigration Research was quoted. Although the cap is not expected to greatly effect New York City, it is expected to effect the economies of upstate cities across New York State where refugees fill jobs, buy homes, start businesses and help reverse population decline. Though the refugee cap is not expected to have a strong effect on New [...]

October 4, 2017. This article discusses the Trump administration's decision to cap the number of refugee arrivals to 45,000, the lowest cap since the resettlement process began. Alternatively, the administration believes that it will be more cost effective to provide services to them in their home country. The article goes on to discuss how refugees have helped with population decline in upstate New York cities and how they are important to the local economies. President Trump announced last week that the United States will admit only [...]

September 28, 2017. In this article the author discusses President Trump's expected plan to cut the refugee cap to 45,000, the lowest cap since September 11, 2011. The author argues that the population and economy of Buffalo will be greatly impacted. The author notes how refugees have helped reverse population decline in Buffalo, as well as helped the economy grow through business ownership, job creation and a boost in real estate prices. The author also notes that refugee resettlement agencies will be negatively impacted and [...]

September 13, 2017. This article discusses the outrage of New Yorkers over a new business that would put vending machines in apartment buildings stocked with convenience store items. New Yorkers feel that using the Hispanic term "Bodega" as the name for the business is problematic. Fast Company via Twitter screenshot "Why are you using the Hispanic name - why are you doing that?" he said. Now a new startup aims to make buying convenience store items a little more convenient for some, while effectively eroding neighborhood [...]

September 1, 2017. In this op-ed, Frederick Floss discusses Mayor Bill de Blasio's proposal to raise the New York City's income tax for individuals with an income over $500,000 and family incomes over $100,000 by 1.03%. Floss discusses the question of fairness that arises for those with higher incomes. He argues that there is an assumption that individuals in the higher income brackets do not benefit from the mass transit system. He argues that they do benefit because it will reduce congestion and help the workers get [...]

August 4, 2017. This article discusses the West Side Bazaar, a market in Buffalo, where many refugees start their businesses, such as retail, food retail and commissary kitchen booths. According to the article this market has helped create demand for products that were previously unavailable and creates employment in refugee communities. FPI's David Kallick is cited discussing the economic impacts of refugees in Buffalo, such as helping with the reversal of population decline. Many refugees resettled in New York live in the upstate city of Buffalo. As the [...]