WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES NOVEMBER 18, 2021 7
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Cruz calls for state action to support immigrant veterans, families
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
On Veterans Day, Assemblywoman
Catalina Cruz, the family of a
service member killed in action,
veterans and community advocates
gathered on the corner of 37th Drive
and 104th Street in Corona that bears
the name of local hero Staff Sergeant
Alex R. Jimenez, just steps from the
home where he grew up.
The son of immigrants from the
Dominican Republic enlisted in the
U.S. Army aft er the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks and deployed to Iraq as part of
the 10th Mountain Division from upstate
New York. Aft er he was captured
by al-Qaeda insurgents in 2007 and
listed as missing, his wife Yadelin was
without documentation and deportation
proceedings began. Jimenez was
in the process of trying to seek legal
status for his wife before he deployed
but was denied due to her illegal entry.
The story of his bravery, and the
plight of Yadelin, struck a chord in
the nation, and the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security eventually granted
her discretionary parole for his sacrifi
ces serving the country. Later, Yadelin
secured permanent residency.
Cruz, the chair of the Assembly Task
Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz and members of Staff Sgt. Alex Jimenez’s
family are calling on Senate to pass her legislation to support immigrant
service members and veterans. Courtesy of Cruz’s offi ce
Force on New Americans, called on
the New York State Senate to pass her
pro-immigrant veteran legislation that
would create a program to help them
secure legal immigration status for
their families, and help them defend
against deportation.
“This legislation provides the state’s
Division of Veterans’ Services with
a clear mandate to assist immigrant
veterans, active enlisted immigrant
military personnel and their families
with assistance in obtaining legal
status and ancillary services off ered
to our other military servicemen and
servicewomen,” Cruz said. “It is unconscionable
that we treat foreign-born
armed forces members as second-class
citizens.”
The bill is named in honor of Jimenez,
whose body was discovered in 2008 after
the Army captured a terrorist who
led them to the sergeant’s remains.
“This is a very important day for
us because our veterans defend our
freedoms and in some cases, they have
given their life,” Jimenez’s mother
Maria Duran said. “He is always in
my heart and I will never forget my
son Alex Jimenez. I am here because I
know he would have wanted me to be
here, helping to make this program a
reality, and his desire to help others can
continue in his name, even though he is
not here with us today.”
Since 2002, more than 139,000 immigrant
service members have legalized
their status, with many of them calling
New York home.
The program would require the
Division of Veterans’ Services to assign
at least two coordinators to help
immigrant service members, veterans
and their families to navigate federal
immigration processes and procedures
to normalize their status as U.S. residents
and/or U.S. citizens.
“We look forward to this program
becoming a reality as we know it will
help many soldiers and their family
members,” said Andy Jimenez, Alex’s
brother.
Addabbo bill to include siblings under paid family leave signed into law
BY KAYLA WONG
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
A bill sponsored by state Senator
Joseph Addabbo allowing family
members to care for a sibling under
Paid Family Leave (PFL) was signed
into law this month.
Under the current law, employees cannot
take leave to care for a sibling with a
serious health condition.
“If this past year has taught us anything,
it is that we must recognize the
needs of all individuals, especially during
life’s most challenging periods,” Addabbo
said. “Many siblings share a strong
bond, and for some single individuals, a
sibling may be the only surviving family
member that they have. Adding ‘sibling’
to the defi nition of ‘family member’ for
the purpose of Paid Family Leave is
simply common sense.”
The new bill (S.2928-A) builds upon
the PFL legislation enacted in 2016, which
created one of the most comprehensive
paid family leave programs in the nation.
Currently, New York’s PFL defi nes
family members more broadly than the
federal Family Medical Leave Act and
allows employees to take job-protected,
paid leave to care for family members
with serious health conditions, among
other things.
The 2016 proposal initially included
siblings, but they were cut out in the fi nal
enacted deal.
A family member is defined as a
spouse, child, parent, domestic partner,
parent-in-law, grandparent or grandchild
— but siblings were not included
in the defi nition. That meant that an
employee couldn’t take paid leave to
care for a sibling; it didn’t matter if the
sibling were terminally ill and without
a spouse, child, parent or someone else
to provide care.
The only exception to rule excluding
siblings is if the sibling had been acting
as a parent to the employee, or the employee
had been acting as a parent to the
sibling.
The new legislation expands the
defi nition of “family members” to include
siblings. This includes biological
siblings, adopted siblings, step-siblings
and half-siblings. These family members
can live outside of New York state, and
even outside of the country.
“Since the initial PFL bill was signed
into law back in 2016, it has given single
mothers, working parents and military
personnel fi nancial security and job protection
dealing with a serious personal
matter, while minimizing the negative
eff ect on small businesses. Now siblings
will be aff orded the same benefi t,” Addabbo
said.
The law will go into eff ect on Jan. 1, 2023.
State Senator Joseph P. Addabbo
Jr. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
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