Queens Lawmakers on the Move July 30, 2020

Meng Slams Republican Failure to Provide Flexibility for 2020 Census

U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Bayside, Flushing, Forest Hills, Fresh Meadows, Glendale, Kew Gardens, Maspeth, Middle Village, Rego Park) issued the following statement on Tuesday after NPR reported that the Senate Republicans’ coronavirus relief package did not provide a time extension for the Census Bureau to count all individuals, especially in hard-to-count areas.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the decennial census is a once-in-a-decade chance to count ALL individuals to ensure that communities receive the resources they need and deserve to build roads, schools, and hospitals.

We cannot afford to have an undercount but that is what the Republicans apparently want in their COVID-19 relief package. By failing to extend the time for which the Census Bureau must submit its data, we risk a decade’s worth of consequences. There are no do-overs with the census; a mistake is a ten-year mistake. We must have flexibility that is needed for this massive project during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

 

Schumer Condemns Continued Attacks On DACA & Immigrant Youth

Senate Democratic Leader Charles E. Schumer issued the following statement following Tuesday’s announcement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that it will reconsider the future of the DACA program, while rejecting new applications and limiting renewals to only a year:  

“The Supreme Court could not have been clearer when it rejected President Trump’s hard-hearted repeal of DACA. Yet President Trump continues to openly defy the law by undermining the program and putting thousands of new eligible young immigrant applicants at risk of deportation. The president’s relentless, heartless attacks on Dreamers show that he is not interested in finding a solution, only creating chaos and distractions. It seems President Trump will stop at nothing to advance his anti-immigrant agenda.

“Yesterday, Senate Republicans again objected to Senator Durbin’s request to pass the bipartisan American Dream and Promise Act—legislation that would create a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients. No matter what, Senate Democrats will fight to protect the immigrant community, and we will continue to press our Senate Republicans colleagues to help us protect Dreamers.”

Sanders Hosts Facebook Live Event on Protests

Senator James Sanders Jr. (D – Laurelton, Rosedale, Springfield Gardens, Edgemere, Bayswater, Arverne and Far Rockaway) will be hosting: “Understanding Why Some Groups Sabotage Protests,” a Facebook Live discussion about the types of groups who sabotage successful demonstrations. Following the brutal police killing of George Floyd, there were many examples of unrest. The event will examine how and why certain groups or organizations take protests of injustice and transform them into chaos, and will feature conversations with leading experts on the development of this phenomenon.

The Facebook Live will be held on Friday July 31 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Sanders’ Facebook page.