In general I agree but if I fly into another country and buy something (paying sales tax) I don’t expect to be able to immediately vote in their elections. Waiting a few years to be able to vote (when the rest of us have to wait 18 years) seems reasonable.
Most of the immigrants in question have been in NYC for years if not most of their lives, far exceeding your own, personal requirements. But NYC set the limit to 6 months, the same limit set for everyone to be considered an NYC resident. All they had to do was be able to prove NYC residency (not a low bar, btw), which proves that they pay taxes.
Hard? If having a vote suddenly makes things easy I’ve been doing voting wrong my whole life. And the naturalization process is cruel, but let’s fix that. If you’re productive and have a clean record you shouldn’t have to wait more than a year.
First of all, if you want to fix the cruel naturalization process, then stop throwing up needless roadblocks to acting in a democracy like citizenship requirements. If one can prove residency and that one is a taxpayer (thus, as is just, deserving of representation, depending on the level of taxation: municipal, state, federal, etc.), then one should get a vote in how said tax collected is dispersed and relevant administrative decisions made, representatives chosen, etc. This was the crux of the NYC decision to let local immigrants vote in local elections.
Second, NO, it shouldn’t take more than a year to process someone’s application of naturalization— in fact, it shouldn’t take more than a month or two. But it takes, even with the best attorney and all expedited “fees”, well over FIVE YEARS. If you’re lucky. If you’re not lucky, it’s never.
I’ve been through this process with friends and loved ones, for better and for worse, over the past 16 or so years. You, clearly, have not. Or you’re discussing this in bad faith— I hope it’s the former, but, buddy, you’re just wrong when you present this as some simple thing that’s “not so bad.” There’s a reason it’s one of the most cantankerous issues of the last 3-4 generations.
Most of the immigrants in question have been in NYC for years if not most of their lives, far exceeding your own, personal requirements. But NYC set the limit to 6 months, the same limit set for everyone to be considered an NYC resident. All they had to do was be able to prove NYC residency (not a low bar, btw), which proves that they pay taxes.
First of all, if you want to fix the cruel naturalization process, then stop throwing up needless roadblocks to acting in a democracy like citizenship requirements. If one can prove residency and that one is a taxpayer (thus, as is just, deserving of representation, depending on the level of taxation: municipal, state, federal, etc.), then one should get a vote in how said tax collected is dispersed and relevant administrative decisions made, representatives chosen, etc. This was the crux of the NYC decision to let local immigrants vote in local elections.
Second, NO, it shouldn’t take more than a year to process someone’s application of naturalization— in fact, it shouldn’t take more than a month or two. But it takes, even with the best attorney and all expedited “fees”, well over FIVE YEARS. If you’re lucky. If you’re not lucky, it’s never.
I’ve been through this process with friends and loved ones, for better and for worse, over the past 16 or so years. You, clearly, have not. Or you’re discussing this in bad faith— I hope it’s the former, but, buddy, you’re just wrong when you present this as some simple thing that’s “not so bad.” There’s a reason it’s one of the most cantankerous issues of the last 3-4 generations.
The Alt-Right Playbook - Didoing