The Democratic-majority New York City Council approved a bill on Thursday to give voting rights to municipal elections. For immigrants legally living in the city, Work permit holders.
After 12 years of debate and the fifth legislative draft, the Council adopted a 589,000 Hold a residence permit (green card)According to the Mayor’s Office of Immigration Affairs.
They will join some 300,000 people hold work permits Or temporary protected status, as well as those under the Deferred Repatriation of Entry (DACA) program for children known as “dreamers.”
To register and vote, non-legal residents must Lived in the city for 30 daysThese details caused intense controversy before the board chairman Corey Johnson voted on Thursday.
A large part of the beneficiaries are Latino immigrants, mainly Mexicans For example, activists Ángel Salazar, Emily Prado or street vendor Saraí Rodríguez, they went to the town hall to vote today.
Dominicans, Chinese and approximately 100,000 Muslims According to the office of Congressman Ydanis Rodríguez, author of the bill, people from different countries are also holders of the new rights.
All of them can now elect their mayor, committee members, inspectors, accountants, prosecutors in the county where they live, and other judicial personnel, but this does not include state or federal votes.
Through this vote, New York joined Fourteen jurisdictions, Mainly in Maryland, their legal residents already enjoy this benefit; on the other hand, Arizona, North Dakota, Florida, Colorado, and Alabama prohibit people who are not recognized as citizens of these states from voting.
Examples against the extreme right
“New York proves once again that it is made up of leaders who understand the importance. Push the city in different directions, We have the ability to use examples to offset what is happening in Texas, where the extreme right wants to reduce the rights of voters,” Rodriguez told Effie after the vote.
“We will not only be a role model for other cities, but also a role model for the whole country,” he added, and assured him that he is proud that he teaches history and his former students see that “we have always followed the men’s and women’s teams, and we are working for They write a new chapter Promote democracy in this city“.
The congressman played down the threat of his Republican colleagues to challenge the bill and pointed out that the bill had been reviewed by the city council and lawyers of the New York Immigration Union, and they were seeking approval.
He also emphasized to Efe that the project seeks to strengthen democracy and recognize the contribution of immigrants to the city.
“They pay The politicians then decide how to use the tax, They get benefits from the city, raise their children here, and take them to public schools, but they cannot vote. It’s like watching a movie. They keep them in the dark, and many politicians are satisfied with it,” he commented.
Empower the humble
“This is a political decision, and the impact will be political. It is not a question of whether it is legal. This is the fear of empowering one million people, Who doesn’t live in an upscale place. They live in parks, where there is unemployment, where shelters are built for the homeless, where there is no quality service,” he said.
By November next year, when the registration process for these voters should begin, “those They want to find (political) positions and they will have to sit with them And discuss their agenda,” Rodriguez said, recalling his experience as a beneficiary of a’green card’ when he obtained citizenship from 1983 to 2000.
He pointed out that he was a dishwasher, taxi driver, factory worker, teacher, student and university activist, these experiences-he said- Similar to immigration Who will benefit from your project.