As the May 5, special election for the 11th Congressional District moves into the final few weeks, Kings County Politics asked the following question to Democratic candidate Vinnie Gentile and Republican candidate Dan Donovan.
Whether you agree or not with President Obama’s amnesty act that would have set conditions for granting amnesty for up to 4.7 million immigrants, the fact remains there are millions of undocumented immigrants in the U.S., including millions that came here as small children, were raised here, paid taxes here and went to school here. At the same time these undocumented immigrants cost the U.S, billions a of taxpayer dollars a year for services in public education, emergency room visits, etc.
From Gentile Spokesperson Justin Brannan: “Unlike his opponent, who skipped a candidates forum on this very issue earlier this week, Councilman Gentile supports a path to citizenship for those who came to America as children. Moreover, Councilman Gentile hopes to see federal immigration reform reduce the bureaucracy that makes those who are paying taxes and taking the proper steps towardscitizenship wait over a decade to have their cases heard. The bottom line is that while his opponent talks about mass deportations, Councilman Gentile, like the majority of Americans, does not want to see families ripped apart.”
From Donovan spokesperson Jessica Proud: “Dan believes we need comprehensive immigration reform that starts with securing our borders. We can’t keep incentivizing people to come here illegally through amnesty programs, the DREAM Act and Obamacare, which alone cost New Yorkers an extra $38 million in this year’s budget. After the borders are secured and we shorten the path for those that came here legally, we can create a process that requires people to pay fines and go through the legal process to become citizens.
