As reported by City & State on 3.19.18:
As the national debate rages about the DREAM Act, the New York state version is back in the spotlight as well. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has included it as an education priority in his executive budget, and the Assembly has included the bill in its budget resolution as well. Supporters hope this will finally be the year that the bill passes as part of the budget.
The New York DREAM Act was first introduced in the state Legislature in 2013, with state Sen. José Peralta and then-Assemblyman Francisco Moya as the sponsors in each chamber. States don’t have the ability to grant citizenship to undocumented immigrants, as the national version would for those who entered the country illegally as children. The state bill instead would allow college-bound undocumented immigrants to access the same in-state scholarships and financial aid available to U.S. citizens. The bill has passed the Assembly every time it has been brought to the floor, but has been met with harsh opposition by the Republican-controlled state Senate…
The first and only time the DREAM Act came to a vote in the state Senate, the circumstances were similar. Republicans controlled the chamber, but Democrats had a 32-seat majority. The bill failed by two votes. One “no” vote was from state Sen. Ted O’Brien, an upstate Democrat who was voted out of office in 2014. The other was state Sen. Simcha Felder, a Brooklyn Democrat who is still in office and caucuses with the Republicans.
Felder is the wild card in the DREAM Act debate. Without him, the bill likely would fall one vote short of passing despite a unified front by the IDC and mainline Democrats. Peralta said he is in constant conversation with Felder about the DREAM Act in case it doesn’t make it into the budget. But he still remained very hopeful that won’t happen.
“That’s probably going to be the best bet that it actually sort of forces people’s hands to make a decision during this election year,” Peralta said. “And it’s going to be very important, very powerful.”
— Posted on 3.25.18 by JVS, backdated to 3.19.18
Felder Tracker 