Now that holidays and new year, and even the lunar Year of the Dragon have passed, we are gearing up for an exciting time with busy election cycles in 2012 and 2013. I want to thank all the supporters of the New York State Immigrant Action Fund (NYSIAF.org) — all of you who have made donations and followed our webpage and Facebook postings. We need your support more than ever, and we plan to launch a monthly e-newsletter in March (specifically for members and donors) and urge you to volunteer. Continued financial support will enable us to update and enhance the website – report cards, new maps after redistricting, more bloggers to track the news and views of diverse immigrant advocates. We also hope to increase our capacity for lobbying – getting the word out to grassroots people,as well as urging elected officials to support legislation that helps immigrants.
There is an exciting prospect in 2012-2013 of getting legislation passed in New York State to open financial aid opportunities to DREAM-eligible students. While NYS offers college admissions to all state residents regardless of immigration status, our state lags behind Texas, California, Illinois and others in offering private (529) and public (TAP) financial assistance to certain students. State legislators Linares, Moya. Perkins and others are drafting bills to allow all students equal access to financial aid opportunities, and this will be a legislative priority for NYSIAF.On Wednesday, March 14, NYSIAF will sponsor a bus to Albany – as part of the annual Albany Day of the New York Immigration Coalition. This will be a one-day trip to hear presentations and updates from our state officials and advocates, and then lobby our elected officials on the financial aid program for DREAM students. Please contact us if you would like to join us in this activity. E-mail: Christian.Baer@nysiaf.org or leave a phone message at 212-647-9009, and we will get back to you.
We are part of a dynamic civic engagement “table” (aka “network,” “coalition”…) assessing the political landscape across NYS and the various Congressional and State races that are shaping up in 2012. Working together, we believe we can target geographical areas where we can register new voters and activate our base of supporters to press our concerns and issues to government. Your input, suggestions and activism will be key in putting immigrant rights into the state-wide agenda.
I hope that you have enjoyed all the blogposts on the Republican Presidential campaign and will continue to check out the website for news and information. There will be volunteer meetings and events in the coming months, so we hope to continue to connect with you in person and in cyberspace!
Thank you!
Chung-Wha Hong
Executive Director
May Chen
President
