FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JULY 12, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 19
Senator labels ICE as a 'rogue agency'
BY RYAN KELLEY
rkelley@qns.com
Twitter @R_Kelley6
Another Queens Democrat recently
took a hard stance on the immigration
crisis that is sweeping the nation when
he labeled Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) as a “rogue agency”
that must be abolished.
State Senator Michael Gianaris made
the statement on July 2 at a rally in
Long Island City before welcoming
Yeni Gonzalez to New York. Gonzalez
is a Guatemalan immigrant who was
detained in Arizona and separated from
her children, who were sent to New
York to be in the care of the Cayuga
Center in East Harlem aft er the family
illegally crossed the U.S./Mexico border.
In addition to calling ICE a rogue
agency, Gianaris said that it’s under the
direction of a “rogue president.”
“Both must be stopped before more
havoc is wreaked on people seeking
a better life in our country,” Gianaris
said. “We must abolish ICE and then
abolish Donald Trump at the ballot box
as soon as possible.”
Gianaris was the fi rst person to offi -
cially welcome Gonzalez to New York
aft er a constituent from Long Island
City, Julie Collazo, organized a volunteer
group to bring Gonzalez to her children.
Collazo and the rest of the volunteers
raised more than $50,000 on a
GoFundMe account, bonded Gonzalez
out of the detention center where she
was being held and drove across the
country to reunite her with her children.
When the Courier spoke to Gianaris
on June 10 about his experience with
Gonzalez, the lawmaker said that the
distressed mother’s will to be reunited
with her family and share their story
was “very powerful.”
“She was tired and beaten down with
everything she had been through,”
Gianaris said. “I was impressed with her
strength and resolve to not only do what
is necessary to get back with her children,
but tell her story so all mothers in
detention can have theirs told as well.”
Th e next day, Gianaris also accompanied
Gonzalez as she went to the Cayuga
Center to see her children for the fi rst
time in fi ve weeks. Gonzalez met privately
with her children, but Gianaris
described her “tremendous excitement”
before arriving at the center and her anxiety
aft er the visit over fi nding sponsorship
so that her children can be released.
Th e senator went on to explain that
while he understands that policies
from the president determine how ICE
should act, he thinks agents could be
acting in a “very aggressive and inappropriate
manner” in some situations.
“Th e agency has taken on a very rogue
character, so we’re hearing a lot of stories
of ICE agents asking for ID on lines
to get onto mass transit, or the situation
where they’re called in when someone
uses an NYCID,” Gianaris said.
In abolishing ICE, Gianaris made
clear that the idea is not to eliminate
border security, it’s to restructure and
reorganize enforcement eff orts. Since
ICE has only been in existence for less
than 20 years, the senator pointed out,
it would not be unprecedented to make
such a change.
Gianaris’ stance followed suit with
fellow Democratic representatives
from the area. Congresswoman Grace
Meng introduced legislation on June 28
to help immigrant children who have
been separated from their families,
and Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez
called for the abolition of ICE on June
29. Councilman Robert Holden, on the
other hand, said that he wanted to be
a “voice of reason” for the Democrats,
calling for better legislation and more
inclusive immigration policies.
A son of immigrants himself, Gianaris
said that he is also continuing to work
for immigrants here in his district.
Earlier in 2018, he introduced a bill
aimed at eliminating discrimination
based on immigration status, and going
forward the senator said his offi ce will
always be a safe resource for immigrants
in need of help.
Photo via Twitter/@SenGianaris
Nixon and Ramos trade endorsements in primary battles
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com/ @jenna_bagcal
Th e last time gubernatorial candidate
Cynthia Nixon endorsed a Queens candidate
for public offi ce, that hopeful —
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — went on to
score one of the borough’s biggest political
upsets in history.
Nixon hopes that the same fate awaits
state Senate candidate Jessica Ramos.
Th e two candidates announced on July
9 that they’re cross-endorsing each other
in their September Democratic primary
battles. Ramos is running against the
incumbent Jose Peralta in the 13th State
Senate District, while Nixon is taking on
New York’s current governor, Andrew
Cuomo.
Nixon and Ramos made their
announcements of support in front of
the Queens Library at 35-51 81st St. this
morning. In the past, both candidates
have worked for the rights of women and
immigrant communities, and have supported
the passage of the Reproductive
Health, Dream and Liberty Acts.
Th e progressive candidates have also
dedicated themselves to reforming broken
rent laws that push tenants out of
their communities.
“As a product of our city’s public
schools, a passionate advocate for immigrant
families and a champion for reproductive
freedom, I know Cynthia will
never betray our city’s women, students
and immigrants,” Ramos said. “For eight
years, Andrew Cuomo has failed to deliver.
Instead, he enabled, supported and
encouraged Republican leadership in
Albany — even aft er Donald Trump was
elected. Enough is enough.”
“We have a bigot in the White House;
we need real progressives in Albany,”
Ramos said. “I look forward to joining
Cynthia in Albany next year and fi nally
codifying Roe v. Wade, providing undocumented
immigrants driver’s licenses,
and fully funding our public schools.”
Th e cross-endorsements came hours
before President Trump was scheduled
to announce his Supreme Court justice
nomination to replace the retiring Justice
Anthony Kennedy. Many observers
believe that the president’s choice, if confi
rmed by the Senate, would likely help to
overturn the ruling in the 1973 case, Roe
v. Wade, in which the Supreme Court
declared that the unduly restrictive state
regulation of abortion is unconstitutional.
Ramos and Nixon charged that Peralta
and Cuomo’s alliance with Senate
Republicans and the Independent
Democratic Conference (IDC) was a
“failure to protect reproductive rights in
New York.” Progressive legislation such
as the Reproductive Health Act and the
Comprehensive Contraceptive Coverage
Act passed the Democratic-controlled
Assembly but was ultimately stopped in
the Republican-controlled state Senate.
Photo via twitter.com/CynthiaNixon
“It’s time for the Governor and Senator
Peralta to stop gaslighting New York’s
women. Th ey made the choice to side
with the Republicans again and again;
and now our reproductive freedom is at
risk with Donald Trump in the White
House and Roe v. Wade hanging in the
balance,” Nixon said.
Th e state and local primary elections will
take place on Sept. 13, with the winners
advancing to the Nov. 6 general election.
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