Suozzi Victory: What’s Next for Migrants on Long Island?
In December, Suozzi unveiled a 10-point plan as part of his campaign, of which one of the points focused specifically on migration policy. In the document, the Congressman pledged to work toward bipartisan immigration reform in the coming term, stating that despite years of talk in Washington, neither party has “done a thing to fix it.”
U.S. Congressman Thomas Suozzi, representing the 3rd District of New York, during a special recognition ceremony at Harlem Regiment Armory, N.Y., April 8, 2021. Image Credit: Flickr.
Democrat Tom Suozzi reclaimed New York’s Third Congressional District, mostly on Long Island’s Nassau County but encompassing a part of Queens, in a special election last month after former Representative George Santos was removed from office in December. Immigration was a huge point of contention in the race against Republican Mazi Pilip.
Given that Suozzi’s district is 28% foreign-born, a figure above the New York state average that increases every year, immigration policy is critical. Over 30% of households primarily speak a non-English language at home, with Spanish being the most common. The number of immigrants on Long Island increased by nearly 20% from 2021 to 2022, to over 111,000 individuals.
In a recent debate, Suozzi stated he supports a temporary closure to pause migration. However, immigration lawyer and Hofstra University law professor Alexander Holtzman said this is “not legal or within any president’s power” as seeking asylum is protected under U.S. and international law. Instead, Holtzman suggested that the Congressman focus on supporting bipartisan immigration reform and more federal funding to assist migrants with legal counsel, housing, and social services.
Social programs are key, as Nassau County is the wealthiest in New York. In a district where the median property value is over $707,000, more than double the U.S. average, the cost of living is exorbitant. With application fees for legal permanent residency set to nearly double in April, many low-income migrants may not be able to afford the new $3,000 fee on top of everyday expenses. For increasing amounts of new arrivals who are starting in rental units, juggling food and transportation costs in addition to legal fees is a heavy burden to bear. Many of these migrants are already fleeing poverty, violence, and persecution in their home countries and the district’s high costs make it challenging to survive in, in comparison to other districts.
In December, Suozzi unveiled a 10-point plan as part of his campaign, of which one of the points focused specifically on migration policy. In the document, the Congressman pledged to work toward bipartisan immigration reform in the coming term, stating that despite years of talk in Washington, neither party has “done a thing to fix it.”
Instead of much-needed social services, Suozzi has concentrated his efforts on border policy. He visited the southern border several times during his former terms in the House between 2017 and 2023. The recent campaign’s 10-point plan detailed hopes to re-initiate two unfulfilled policies drafted during Suozzi’s previous tenure. 2021’s “Ellis Island” proposal sought to accelerate asylum cases by creating a new processing center at the border and increasing the number of immigration judges. According to Suozzi, eligible applicants’ cases could be expedited and ineligible migrants should be deported swiftly. A similar proposal was included in the U.S. Senate border deal which failed in the legislature last month.
Suozzi’s other recommendation is a retry of 2019’s bipartisan “Grand Compromise”, which proposed increased funding for border security and legal status for five million undocumented migrants currently in the U.S.
Attaining legal status is vital for migrants in financial precarity, as undocumented individuals are not eligible for most public assistance, including SNAP (popularly known as food stamps) and Medicaid. There are about 100,000 unauthorized immigrants in Nassau and Suffolk counties alone, of which about 20% live at or below the poverty line and about 40% are uninsured. One healthcare provider in the Brentwood school district said the “large majority” of her students’ immigrant parents only have identification documents from their country of origin. Many of those students lack required vaccinations and physical examinations, but she said most parents can eventually comply with New York State law.
Despite the lack of public assistance options, undocumented migrants can still turn to nonprofit organizations for nutrition and legal aid. Immigration Law & Justice New York provides a bi-monthly immigration clinic in Hicksville, offering free legal consultations to low-income and vulnerable immigrants. In the event of an available legal remedy, lawyers from the organization will provide complete representation and counsel. The vast majority of immigrants represent themselves in court.
“We’re incredibly overburdened,” said Immigration Law & Justice executive director Paul Fleck. Since asylum cases are so complex and take months or years to resolve, the organization’s attorneys cannot take on more than two clients at a time. According to Fleck, despite skyrocketing demand, the lawyers aren’t presently taking on any new cases for full representation. They can still offer help with specific tasks, like filing asylum applications or obtaining work permits, but cannot assist with accessing other social services.
Suozzi himself spearheaded the creation of a community aid center for immigrants three decades ago, as former four-term mayor of his hometown Glen Cove. There, undocumented workers could access job postings, training, and English lessons.
Eden Franco, a 23-year-old Port Washington native, voted for Suozzi and said her parents and most of her circle did, too. Franco’s grandfather immigrated to New York from Aleppo, Syria in the 1940s. “We live in a very diverse area,” the New York University performance student said. “Immigration is important because it lends itself to the culture.”
Franco believes Suozzi’s long-standing ties to the district make him best suited to keep his constituents in mind in Washington. “He knows what it’s like to live in those areas and be a part of those communities,” she said. “We are very excited about him being in office.”
Others in the immigration arena aren’t so sure. “It was a bit of a race to the bottom,” said Fleck, who considered Suozzi the “least bad” option. “It’s easy to take your politics out on undocumented immigrants because they don’t vote. It’s like kicking a puppy.” Fleck believes that immigrants have been used as a scapegoat by politicians like former president Donald Trump for a range of issues, including crime and job loss.
Holtzman is supportive of Suozzi’s plans to legalize noncitizens currently in the U.S. as part of immigration reform, despite current obstacles in Congress. “Doing so is not only the right thing to do, but can also be politically advantageous,” said the attorney. “Many civil rights movements take decades to win justice, and immigration is one of the foremost civil rights issues of our time.”
Sophia Moore is a graduate of NYU’s College of Arts and Science in Journalism and Romance Languages. She is pursuing an accelerated Masters at NYU in International Relations, and hopes to work for the U.S. Department of State.
