WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JANUARY 25, 2018 13
GLAD
THAT VISION ZERO
IS WORKING
I would like to commend Mayor de
Blasio’s program of Vision Zero. This
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. The driver
had stopped and waited for police to arrive
after calling 911. Joe was 86 years old.
Things 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. The 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. The
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
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Time to fi x immigration
BY CONGRESSMAN TOM SUOZZI
I’m passionate about solving our
nation’s immigration crisis.
Why, you ask? The 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. The 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.
These countries are impoverished and
suff ering from a host of problems. The
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.
There are three key elements surrounding
the immigration debate:
1) The 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) The nearly 300,000 people living
here under Temporary Protected
Status because of natural disasters
or armed conflict back in their home
countries. Many Salvadorans, Haitians
and other immigrants settled
on Long Island following a series of
cataclysmic events.
3) The 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 influence 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.” There are
many proposals that could pass the
House right now, but insider politics
forecloses it.
This 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
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.
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