FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JANUARY 25, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 25
oped
Catholic Schools Week starts across Queens and Brooklyn this Sunday, Jan. 28. Catholic academies across the borough will
be hosting open houses showcasing their educational programs in the hope of bringing in new students for the year ahead.
This 2012 photo published in the Ridgewood Times shows students at St. Stanislaus School in Maspeth praying during one
of their open house sessions. Send us your historic photos of Queens by emailing editorial@qns.com (subject: A Look Back)
or mail printed pictures to A Look Back, Schneps Publications, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361. All mailed pictures will
be carefully returned to you.
letters & comments
GLAD THAT VISION
ZERO IS WORKING
I would like to commend Mayor
de Blasio’s program of Vision
Zero. Th is has saved more lives,
as the mayor has just reported. It
was mention at his news conference
that since Vision Zero was
launched in 2013, traffi c fatalities
have dropped 45 percent, while
pedestrian fatalities have fallen 45
percent. I only wish this was done
by previous administrations sooner.
I live in Glen Oaks Village and
not long ago on Commonwealth
Boulevard on a rainy night a good
neighbor of mine named Joe was
killed with his son’s dog named
Sandy, while crossing the street.
Th e driver had stopped and waited
for police to arrive aft er calling
911. Joe was 86 years old.
Th ings have improved with
speed bumps being installed,
which slowed the cars, vans and
trucks. All and all I hope the
decline of pedestrian deaths will
continue. We all must do our part
in ensuring that Vision Zero continues
to succeed.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.,
Glen Oaks Village
D.C. MUST
COMPROMISE TO
KEEP DREAMERS HERE
Dreamers face a March 5 deadline
for Congress to decide if they
can stay in the U.S. Th e House
and Senate are deadlocked on this
issue.
But a simple compromise
between Democrats and President
Trump’s GOP allies would
allow 800,000 DACA recipients
to remain here. A majority
of them meet the criteria
for the RAISE (Reforming
American Immigration for Strong
Employment) Act that Trump and
other Republicans
support. Th e bill gives preference
to English-speaking immigrants
with valuable jobs skills and
a solid education.
If Congress restores DACA, it
must also pass the RAISE Act so
all future immigrants will meet
the same criteria. Canada and
Australia, who are committed to
diversity, use a merit-based immigration
system. Why can’t we?
Richard Reif, Kew Gardens Hills
HOW MANY
NUKES DO YOU
REALLY NEED?
Th e latest strategy for increasing
our defenses seems to be
quite a bit much. Why do we
need to introduce more weaponry
into our defense system, when
we already have enough weapons,
both non-nuclear and nuclear, to
blow up the world 100 times over?
Th ere should be gradual reduction
in the number of nuclear
weapons, which would certainly
be a positive sign to other countries
around the world, including
Russia and China, that our nation
is not seeking military superiority
over them. All nations of the
world that possess nuclear weapons,
including Iran, North Korea
and Israel, need to also substantially
reduce those numbers.
In a nuclear war, there
are no winners — only losers.
Humankind would be wiped from
existence if the planet was ravaged
by nuclear confl ict.
John Amato, Fresh Meadows
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expressed in all letters and comments
are not necessarily those of
this publication or its staff .
Time to fi x immigration
BY CONGRESSMAN TOM SUOZZI
I’m passionate about solving our nation’s immigration crisis.
Why, you ask? Th e answer is simple. My family’s story,
like many families’ stories throughout New York and the
country, did not start here in America.
My father was born in Italy and came here as a boy. He was
the fi rst in his neighborhood to go to college. He then fought
in World War II as a navigator on a B-24 and was awarded
the Distinguished Flying Cross. Aft er the war, he went
to Harvard Law School on the GI Bill and went on to serve
as the youngest judge in the history of New York state. I’m
a fi rst-generation American, and thanks to my immigrant
father, I can proudly say that our family lived the American
Dream.
My father’s story inspired me as a young mayor in 1994,
despite the rancor in our community, to open the fi rst “dayworker”
work site on the East Coast. Th e newcomers from
Central and South America who had once gathered on street
corners seeking work in my hometown of Glen Cove, today
own businesses and homes, and their children go to school
with my children. Much like my father, they oft en proclaim,
“What a country!”
Immigrants, whether documented or undocumented, are
human beings. I am concerned that all the uncertainty, rhetoric
and, in some cases, outright assaults, are causing untold
anxiety. It is heart wrenching. It is poor public policy and it
is un-American.
It’s time to address our nation’s immigration crisis, and to
do it in a way that lives up to our American ideals. Our country
is founded on a basic principle that “all men and women
are created equal.” It is not “all men and women with a green
card are created equal” or “all citizens are created equal.”
All people, including immigrants, whether here legally or
not, are human beings, who are entitled to be treated with
human dignity and respect.
President Trump’s derogatory comments about El
Salvador, Haiti and some African countries were divisive,
demoralizing and un-presidential. Th ese countries are
impoverished and suff ering from a host of problems. Th e
United States has always been a beacon of hope to them and
so many others. His comments diminished our status as that
beacon.
I support securing our borders, but we must remember
this crisis started as far back as the 1980s, when Salvadorans
fl ooded over the borders as they tried to escape the death
squads, gangs and abject poverty.
It’s time for all of us to come together, solve this problem
now and in a way that is true to the promise of America.
Th ere are three key elements surrounding the immigration
debate:
1) Th e millions of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
(DACA) and DREAMers who were brought here as children.
Any deal must include provisions to protect DREAMers,
period.
2) Th e nearly 300,000 people living here under Temporary
Protected Status because of natural disasters or armed confl
ict back in their home countries. Many Salvadorans,
Haitians and other immigrants settled on Long Island following
a series of cataclysmic events.
3) Th e overarching debate of comprehensive immigration
reform and a way forward for the 11 million presently
undocumented immigrants while securing our borders to
avoid a repeat of the past.
Unfortunately, far right and anti-immigration factions
have a tremendous infl uence on the Republican leadership.
Speaker Paul Ryan refuses to hold a vote because he agreed
that he would not, as part of his role as Speaker, unless he
has a “majority of the majority.” Th ere are many proposals
that could pass the House right now, but insider politics
forecloses it.
Th is is the greatest country on Earth. My dad knew that.
He also knew that a central part of our greatness is serving
as a beacon to the rest of the world for those “tired and poor
yearning to breathe free.” Reclaim that mantle and we will
truly make America great again.
A LOOK BACK