On Tuesday, the far-left New York Immigration Coalition, allied groups, and about a thousand supporters rallied in Albany, demanding that stimulus funds be given to immigrants. Over four years ago I noted that the NYIC doesn't differentiate between legal immigrants and illegal aliens, and that's also true in this case: although they'll take pains not to admit it, they clearly want stimulus funds to go to illegal aliens. In fact, part of their demands included an end to police inquiring about immigration status.

Per [1], Chung Wha Hong of the NYIC said:

"Immigrants account for nearly a quarter of the state's gross economic output, or $229 billion... We also came out in force in the 2008 election, making up a significant segment of new voters revitalizing our democracy. And we’re here today because four million immigrant New Yorkers are ready to work with the state to get our economy rolling again, and to let the governor and legislators know that supporting strong and vibrant immigrant communities is part of the solution."

1. "Immigrants" shouldn't be voting; that's reserved for citizens, whether native-born or naturalized. (Some localities allow non-citizen voting on local issues, but she was referring to the national election.)

2. The four million figure comes from a 2007 study that the NYIC co-produced. The study admitted that the four million included over a half a million illegal aliens. Obviously, she knows that.

Others attending included: some from the the Westchester Hispanic Coalition, the Young Korean American Service Education Center (YKASEC), the Long Island Immigrant Alliance, Make the Road New York and Haitian Americans United for Progress. Assemblypersons Grace Meng and Richard Gottfried also spoke.

From [2]:

The advocates also called for the statewide expansion of New York City executive orders 41 and 120, signed by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in June 2008. Executive order 41 prohibits city agencies, like the New York Police Department and the Fire Department of New York from inquiring about the immigration status of an individual... ...They are proposing the state move toward universal health coverage for the uninsured and a simplification of the enrollment and recertification process for Medicaid and Family Health Plus. In addition, the group calls for community-based education and enrollment programs to inform and attract immigrants so that they will sign up for health care programs... Advocates want a "comprehensive translation and interpretation" program put in place to assist non-English-speaking tenants.

[1] fairimmigration.wordpress.com/2009/02/11/
firm-spotlight-the-new-york-immigration-coalition-fights-for-resources

[2] legislativegazette.com/read_more.php?story=3514