Hello Friends,Please Take The Following Actions NOW:1) The article entitled “Patchogue-Medford: High school ESL classes to stay put” in today’s Newsday exemplifies discussions that are happening across the island. Funding and opportunities for English as a Second Language classes are constantly being threatened by those who don’t understand it’s purpose and vast benefits.
A commonly argument against new immigration is that immigrants do not want to learn English. Well, here is a case of students congregating to learn English and are thus labeled threatening. This article comes just over one month after an Ecuadorian man was stabbed to death by a gang of high school students.Take action now by writing a letter to the editor of Newsday or posting a comment on online version of this story to make your voice heard. Share your experiences as students, volunteers or teachers in ESL classrooms! Below are some guidelines for writing Letters to the Editor and as always, you can contact the Long Island Wins team for addition help.
– Keep your letter to 200 words or fewer. Short and to the point.
– Letters to the editor are opinion pieces, so make sure your first sentence states your point of view.
– Include your contact information (full name, address, telephone number, and email address).
2) Yesterday Suffolk County Legislator Gregory laid a new bill on the table to create a Task Force on Hate Crimes in Suffolk County. The full text of the bill is copied below. This is the first piece of legislation created in response to the killing of Marcelo Lucero and the under reporting of hate crimes in Suffolk County.
The purpose of the task force is “…to examine the sources of racial tension in the County, to study and analyze the mechanisms used to report hate crimes in the County, and provide recommendations on current hate crime legislation…”
Please take action now and write to your Legislator or to Legislator Gregory. Let the Suffolk County Legislators know how you feel about this legislation AND what else you think needs to be done to address the issues of immigration policy to help promote opportunity and community integration for all Long Islanders.
Long Island Wins will continue to post up-to-the-minute updates on loncal immigration news and events at www.LongIslandWins.com. We are also available to speak at your local community organization, religious group or schools about immigration trends and policy on Long Island. You can contact us at longislandwins@gmail.com to request a speaker.
In solidarity,
The Long Island Wins Team
Full Text of Hate Crimes Task Force Legislation:
Intro Res. No. 2227-2008 Laid on Table 12/16/2008
Introduced by Legislator Gregory
RESOLUTION NO. -2008, ESTABLISHING A TASK FORCE ON HATE CRIMES IN SUFFOLK COUNTY WHEREAS, the recent murder of Marcelo Lucero in Patchogue and the related attacks on two other individuals, who were allegedly targeted by their assailants because they were Hispanic, has led to an increased sensitivity to bias-related crimes in the County; and
WHEREAS, other bias-related crimes have occurred in recent years in Suffolk County, including high profile violent attacks on immigrant workers in Farmingville in 2000 and an arson in 2003; and
WHEREAS, studies conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigations show that hate crimes against Latinos have been steadily increasing nationally over the past four (4) years; and
WHEREAS, following the murder of Mr. Lucero, members of the Hispanic community have stated that undocumented workers are reluctant to make reports when they are victims of crime because they fear reprisal; and
WHEREAS, the fact that only one verified hate crime was reported in Suffolk County in 2007 suggests that bias and hate crimes occurring in Suffolk County are failing to be reported and addressed; and
WHEREAS, in order to combat the occurrence of bias and hate crimes in the County, government officials need help from the entire community to determine how frequently these acts occur and how often are they reported to the police; and
WHEREAS, County leaders also need more information to determine why bias-related crimes are not reported to police so that appropriate actions may be taken to ensure that bias-related crimes are reported and investigated; and
WHEREAS, the Suffolk County Legislature wants to ensure that racial tensions are addressed within the community and hate crimes of all forms are reported, with all possible steps taken to address these problems and prevent their occurrence; and
WHEREAS, the Suffolk County Legislature wants to be a leader in determining the sources of hate crimes in the community and finding the best ways to combat them; now, therefore be it
1st RESOLVED, that a special Task Force on Hate Crimes in Suffolk County (“Task Force”) is hereby created to examine the sources of racial tension in the County, to study and analyze the mechanisms used to report hate crimes in the County, and provide recommendations on current hate crime legislation; and be it further
2nd RESOLVED, that this Task Force shall consist of the following thirteen (13) members:
1.) two (2) representatives from the County Legislature , to be selected by the Presiding Officer;
2.) a representative from the County Executive ‘s office, to be selected by the County Executive ;
3.) a Clergyman, to be selected by the County Legislature ;
4.) two (2) representatives from the Suffolk County community at large, to be selected by the County Legislature ;
5.) a representative from the Suffolk County Police Department Hate Crimes Unit;
6.) a representative from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office;
7.) a representative from the Suffolk County Anti-Bias Task Force;
8.) a representative from one of the Suffolk County School Districts, to be selected by the County Legislature ;
9.) a representative from the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission;
10.) a representative from the gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgender community in Suffolk County , to be selected by the County Legislature ;
11.) a representative from the Suffolk County Hispanic Advisory Board; and be it further
3rd RESOLVED, that the chairperson of the Task Force shall be chosen from one of the representatives from the Legislature appointed to the Task Force by the Presiding
Filed under: immigration, long island, Long Island Politics
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