(Long Island, NY) Today, Assemblyman Dean Murray (R,C,I- East Patchogue) sharply criticized a recent New York State Board of Regents vote to allow undocumented immigrants in New York to apply for teacher certification and professional licenses.
“This is an insult to all of our hard working legal residents who are also trying to obtain licensure,” said Murray. “New York City Democrats have been cutting education funding and forcing our schools to cut jobs, leaving our teachers and recent college graduates unable to find gainful employment. Now the Board of Regents wants to make it even tougher for our legal residents? This is a slap in the face to the law-abiding taxpayers of New York who are legally looking to forward their careers and opportunities.”
The Board met and voted on this controversial issue on Wednesday. Its decision now allows for professional licensing to be pursued in a multitude of fields in addition to teaching, such as pharmaceuticals and engineering. The State Education Department currently issues 53 different professional licenses.
“This is another example of the influx of illegal immigrants having a direct impact on the availability of work for legal, taxpaying citizens,” said Murray. “When you couple this with the Board of Regents decision to force the part 154 regulations on school districts across the state, it makes for a very uneven playing field.”
The part 154 regulations require school districts to hire a certain number of ESL teachers to help teach the growing number of ESL students. Because districts have a limited budget for payroll, if they need to hire more ESL teachers, in many cases, they will be required to eliminate some existing teachers.
“There is a proper process of obtaining legal status to work and live in our state and country for a reason,” Murray said. “A state department of non-elected bureaucrats should not be undermining that guiding principle.”
