Gillibrand Meets with Hispanic Leaders To Talk Immigration

New York’s new U.S. senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, told Latino elected officials on Sunday that she would like to take the lead on immigration issues, and even change some of her previous positions that were viewed as “anti-immigrant”.

She promised leaders that she would promote a bill in Congress that would roll back a federal provision that discourages states from charging in-state tuition to the children of illegal immigrants who attend state-supported universities. The bill would also allow illegal immigrants who have grown up in the United States and are attending college to apply for legal status.

While she was a representative from upstate New York, Ms. Gillibrand supported a crack down on cities like New York that fail to enforce all immigration laws, something that has alarmed many Latino leaders and New Yorkers.

Gillibrand said she no longer favors the legislation which would have led to financial penalties for the city. “In a lot of these issues, it’s a case of learning more and expanding my view.”

Some of the Latino elected officials who met with the senator at the Brooklyn offices of El Diario, a Spanish language newspaper, did not seem convinced of Ms. Gillibrand’s new vows to be pro-immigrant advocate. Last week El Diario ran a front-page headline a week ago declaring Ms. Gillibrand to be anti-immigrant, citing her votes in favor of English-only regulations and a bill deputizing local police officers to act as immigration agents.

In the House, Ms. Gillibrand, a Democrat, represented a majority Republican and conservative rural district around the state capital of Albany that goes towards the Adirondacks. Now that she is representing New York as a state, she must account for the majority Democratic vote state-wide as well as the immigrant-rich cities and towns.

“She understands she no longer represents a small Congressional district upstate,” said Assemblyman Jose R. Peralta of Queens, who is the son of immigrants from the Dominican Republic. “We are going to help her and pay close attention, and if she doesn’t change, well, then we’ll be speaking to other contenders in 2010.”

New York Times