Griffo: Federal government must fix immigration problem

Following the Biden Administration’s announcement, at the urging of Gov. Kathy Hochul and other Democratic officials, that almost 500,000 Venezuelan migrants will be eligible to apply for Temporary Protected Status and work permits, state Sen. Joseph Griffo, R-C-Rome, today continued to raise the alarm about the nation’s problematic and flawed immigration policy. 

Sen. Griffo said that, while he is not insensitive to people fleeing oppression and seeking a better life elsewhere, the nation’s immigration policies need to be strengthened, revisited and revised to ensure that those entering our country do so legally and properly. 

“The federal policies that we have now are not working. This is most recently evidenced by the Democrat mayor of Eagle Pass, a town on the Texas border that has been swamped by illegal migrants, declaring a state of emergency and stating that these individuals are ‘coming in with no consequence,’” Sen. Griffo said. “However, instead of substantively addressing this issue, it seems that Washington D.C. is more concerned with bickering and political posturing. As a result, thousands of illegal migrants continue to stream into our country because they know they just have to say the magic, six letter password – ‘asylum’ - when they get here. We are facing a national crisis that is a result of a crisis of choice. Our nation cannot and should not have porous borders. It’s time for the federal government to fix this problem.” 

Sen. Griffo has been outspoken on the illegal migrant issue and how it could affect communities in New York, especially those upstate. He remains critical of a proposal to increase taxes to address this crisis and has introduced legislation (S7616) that will improve communication, accountability and transparency when it comes to the resettlement of migrants in the state. Companion legislation is sponsored by Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, D-Rotterdam. 

“In Utica and the Mohawk Valley, we have seen how refugee resettlement can be done properly and how the region has benefited from those who have come here legally in accordance with the appropriate immigration protocols,” Sen. Griffo said. “The federal government can and should learn from what has been done here successfully over the years. Instead, it is pushing its immigration problem onto the states who then push this problem onto communities that do not have the resources to care for this influx of people. While the feds sit on their hands, the ineffective New York City Mayor plays the victim card and takes billions of state funding and the governor tells these migrants to ‘go somewhere else’ because New York is out of room, I applaud and support our county and local officials who have taken a strong stand on this issue. They have remained firm in their resolve when it comes to illegal migrants coming to their communities.” 

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