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News
Dowling College Public Policy Institute Holds Roundtable on the Economics of Immigration: A Two-Century Legacy of Dysfunction
Dowling College President, Robert Gaffney, in light of Governor Spitzer's decision to provide drivers' licenses to immigrants with passports, announced that "how well Long Island welcomes its immigrants" will be the focus of the September 28th Roundtable for Long Island's Future by the Long Island Economic and Social Policy Institute at Dowling College. Mr. Gaffney feels that this issue of discussion will go a long way to defining Long Island's future workforce and how well the Long Island economy will be able to sustain itself as baby-boomers retire.
Martin Cantor, Director of the Long Island Economic and Social Policy Institute at Dowling College added, "America has had a two-century old legacy of viewing immigrants as outsiders, despite the fact that America is a country built on immigrants." Mr. Cantor followed that discussing this legacy will be Newsday columnist Ray Keating, Long Island Federation President, John Durso, and Long Island Immigration Alliance Executive Director, Dr. Luis Valenzuela.
Mr. Keating said that "understanding how the economy actually works reveals immigration - legal and illegal - as an economic positive. Quite simply, more immigrants equal more workers, consumers, investors and entrepreneurs. For example, the 2007 edition of the "Economic Report of the President" noted: "Foreign-born workers (the sum of legal and illegal migrants) make up 15% of the total U.S. labor force, and since 1996 they have accounted for about half of the total growth in the labor force, thereby fueling macroeconomic growth."
Mr. Durso countered that "America's immigration system is broken and it needs to be fixed. The American labor movement has called the present system a blueprint for exploitation of workers, both foreign born and native. While failing to stop the flow of undocumented people into the United States, it is causing workplace discrimination against immigrants and minorities, particularly undocumented workers."
Dr. Valenzuela voiced his concern that since "one-in-seven Long Islanders are born outside of the United States, this has fostered growing tensions between these newcomers to the region and long-time residents, with the longer tenured residents resisting what they view as an incursion into their suburban community. The result, Dr. Valenzuela fears, is that immigrants will remain victims of prejudice and resistance for the foreseeable future."
Mr. Cantor concluded that, "for Long Island to grow, a balance must be achieved between the new immigrants to Long Island and existing residents. To do less will relegate the region to chasing dreams beyond its capability to achieve. The result is that no one will benefit."
About Dowling College
Dowling College is an independent, coeducational college that serves more than 6,500 students at
its historic Rudolph Campus on the banks of the Connetquot River in Oakdale, NY, and the 105-acre
Brookhaven Campus in eastern Long Island and a business center located near the Nassau-Suffolk
border in Melville. Dowling offers Bachelor′s, Master′s, and Doctoral degrees in several
disciplines through its four schools: Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business, and Education.
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