Policies Supported By Hochul, Harckham Are Unsustainable in New York
Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
It feels like every day brings news of another violent crime, often involving gang members, who have entered New York illegally. After all the progress we’ve made in reducing crime over the past generation, this is both frustrating and demoralizing.
Violent criminals are being allowed into the country because adequate vetting of migrants no longer occurs. No documentation, no background checks, no knowledge of what their purpose is for coming here. That sad fact, combined with the ill-advised introduction of cashless bail (co-sponsored by state Sen. Peter Harckham), has resulted in a crime wave that threatens the very economic livelihood of our state.
An estimated 200,000 migrants have arrived in New York in the past year alone, with tens of thousands more on the way. The problem is clear: New York’s sanctuary state policies attract migrants from all over the world – most with good intentions, but some without. This year, Gov. Hochul, with support from Harkham, spent more than $2 billion in taxpayer funds on this issue. Now they’re planning to allocate billions more for health, housing and other benefits to an ever-growing population. Understandably, taxpayers are outraged.
I fully support legal immigration and have no issue with people coming to the U.S. the right way. But what Harkham and Hochul are doing is simply unsustainable. New York has its own challenges, and we cannot keep setting ourselves up for failure or raising taxes to accommodate everyone who wants to come here.
Gina Arena, who is running for state Senate, gets it and she’ll have my vote on Election Day. Common sense in Albany is long overdue.
Patrice Cortelli
Peekskill
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