22 THE QUEENS COURIER • JANUARY 13, 2022 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
editorial
Citizenship and expanding rights
During his interview on
CNN’s State of the Union on Jan.
9, Mayor Eric Adams was asked
a rather startling question by
the program’s host, Jake Tapper:
Does he believe the noncitizen
voting bill that the City Council
passed last month “makes a
mockery of citizenship”?
Th e question came a day aft er
Adams announced he would not
stand in the way of the “Our City,
Our Vote Bill” (as it’s known)
from becoming the law of New
York City. Th e bill gives some
800,000 noncitizens in the fi ve
boroughs — working visa or
green card holders — the right
to vote in municipal elections;
state and federal elections would
remain off -limits to them.
Adams rejected the notion that
the new bill undermines citizenship
motive which they’ve concocted.
It’s not lost on us that
most of these opponents also
stand against eff orts to make it
easier for American citizens to
vote because, though they won’t
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Reach: 33,918 (as of 1/10/2022)
of the city in which they live
to run a government for which
they pay taxes.
Th e bill is not, as its opponents
claim, a “power grab” or
some other deleterious ulterior
THE QUEENS
eff orts or makes a mockery
of them. Th e fact is that the noncitizen
bill, complicated as the
calculus might be, does not provide
full voting rights to noncitizen
New Yorkers.
It does, however, grant those
noncitizens who abide by visa
and green card requirements the
ability to at least choose the leaders
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admit it, more people voting gets
in the way of their own unpopular
political agenda.
But letting noncitizens vote in
municipal elections isn’t really
good enough. Th e city should
encourage noncitizens to pursue
and attain citizenship so they
can enjoy the full rights of all
Americans to participate in their
democracy.
The Mayor’s Office of
Immigrant Aff airs provides an
array of free programs to help
New Yorkers on their path to
citizenship. You can learn more
about the program at nyc.gov/
immigrants or by conducting
a simple Google search — but
the information about this program
isn’t as widely known as it
should be.
Red tape oft en slows down
the citizenship process, and the
city should do more to press its
Capitol Hill representatives to
pass legislation cutting much of
that tape away. It takes an average
of 14 1/2 months for an individual
to navigate the citizenship
process; Congress should review
the procedures and determine
the best ways to make the process
secure, yet more expedient.
All New Yorkers should be
part of their democracy, and
this city’s government should do
more to promote full membership
in this great country.
Photo by Paul Frangipane
Letting noncitizens vote in municipal elections isn’t enough. The city should encourage noncitizens to pursue and attain
citizenship so they can enjoy the full rights of all Americans to participate in their democracy.
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