Immigration reform sparks Brooklyn reaction
America, New York City and, of course, Brooklyn, are the great melting pots welcoming immigrants with open arms.
But is that an accurate depiction of the history of immigration in the United States? In reality, immigration is much more complicated — and more expensive for the taxpayers since 9/11.
The template that the senators are following is not unfamiliar to those entrenched in immigration reform, notes Brooklyn College professor Anna Law. “They are not inventing anything new here, said Law. “The agreement seems to follow the Immigration Act of 1986. It is a two-pronged approach: one track that allows for the legalization of undocumented persons and a second track for tougher enforcement of immigration laws.”
In October 2012 a Brooklyn woman, an immigrant to the United States, was reunited with her family after spending four months in a Virginia prison, detained by federal immigration officials. The woman, Ms. Lin, 32, had been an innocent bystander during a sting to catch people buying fake green cards, according to her lawyer, C.J. Wang.