Family Separation Policy Runs Counter to American Values
At a press conference, Rep. Nadler spoke in opposition to the Administration's new, zero tolerance immigration policy.
From its earliest days to the present, I believe the Administration has relentlessly pushed an anti-immigrant agenda, including ending the DACA program and implementing a travel ban specifically targeting seven Muslim majority countries. Earlier this month, I penned an Op-Ed about my views on the Administration’s new, zero tolerance immigration policy that separates families and, in my opinion, ignores due process. Under this new policy, which was designed to deter even people with a legitimate right of asylum from attempting to enter the country, parents are arrested and criminally prosecuted, and their children taken away from them. These children may be taken many hundreds of miles away – and there is no system to reunify them with their parents after the parents’ criminal cases are resolved.
We have a legal and moral obligation to protect the most vulnerable among us, which surely includes children. Congress must not let the Administration's enforcement policy continue, and I intend to introduce legislation to address this issue.
Fighting Effort to Eliminate LGBT Teen Crime Victim Data
Last month, I joined over 50 House Members in submitting comments to the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) in response to the agency’s attempt to eliminate sexual orientation and gender identity questions from the National Crime Victimization Survey. Federal studies have shown that young LGBT individuals face higher rates of criminal victimization than their straight, heterosexual peers - including higher rates of being bullied, physically attacked, and threatened with weapons in schools. In my view, this would rollback LGBT protections, and there is simply no meaningful justification for the BJS to remove sexual orientation and gender identity questions from the National Crime Victimization Survey.
Celebrating the Transformation of the South Brooklyn Maritime Hub
For over thirty years, I have advocated for the development of a container port in Brooklyn. Last month, I joined the New York City Economic Development Corporation to celebrate the reactivation of the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT) as a major shipping hub.
I fundamentally believe that an active Brooklyn container port is imperative for the economic vitality and environmental well-being of the City. Over the next several years, these docks will eliminate thousands of semi-truck trips, reducing pollution, noise, and traffic. The opening of this terminal will put our waterfront back to work, ensuring that our port district overall retains its position of dominance on the eastern seaboard of the United States.
This is an absolutely essential part of moving goods more efficiently, growing sustainable and local jobs, and protecting our environment, and I am proud of the progress that has been made to open the SBMT.
Modernizing Copyright Laws to Ensure Fair Compensation
The music industry comprises a significant part of New York City’s economy. I have long been an advocate of fair compensation for performers, songwriters and studio professionals, and I was proud to be one of the lead sponsors and authors of the Music Modernization Act, which significantly reforms the process for licensing mechanical reproduction royalties, guarantees payment to legacy artists for music recorded prior to 1972, and creates several provisions to ensure that music creators receive fair market value for their work. This bill was supported by a broad coalition that includes songwriters and artists, publishers and labels, and Internet and digital media companies, and I am thrilled that, with overwhelming bipartisan support, we passed the legislation in the House by a vote of 415 to zero.
Read my full statement in support of the Music Modernization Act here.
Speaking Out to Defend Women’s Health
The Department of Health and Human Services recently proposed a rule that would require facilities receiving Title X family planning funds to be physically separate from those that perform abortion, eliminate the requirement that women with unintended pregnancies be counseled on their full range of reproductive options, and ban abortion referrals. In my view, this proposed rule is simply another ploy to defund Planned Parenthood and limit women’s constitutionally protected right of access to care, completely ignoring the rule of law and precedents established under Roe v. Wade. I believe these actions by the Administration have made it clear that Americans’ right to comprehensive healthcare, and to make one’s own choices about having a family, are increasingly under threat.
