Senator Chuck Schumer announced today that he is “not confident” that Senator Jeff Sessions can protect the rights of all Americans as Attorney General under President-Elect Donald Trump. Schumer specifically noted Sessions’ anti-immigrant record and lack of support for comprehensive immigration reform in his statement.

The U.S. Senate voted early this morning to approve a budget resolution that represents a major step in Republicans' efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Republicans have promised to continue toward a budget reconciliation bill that will gut the ACA before the end of January.

On Monday, January 10th, Governor Cuomo presented several proposals of his 2017 State of the State agenda, launching the “New York Promise” agenda to advance social justice and affirm New York’s progressive values.

Among the Governor’s proposals and executive orders that were announced include:

The launch of the “We Are All Immigrants” Initiative, included the “Empire State Immigrant Defense Project” that uses public-private partnerships to expand legal services for immigrants, an expansion of naturalization services offered by the state’s Office of New Americans, the Governor’s promise to advance the New York State DREAM Act to provide undocumented students with access to tuition assistance, and the launch of the “Blue Ribbon Panel on Immigrants” to assess the affectivity of state services and resources that support immigrant integration.

Today, Governor Cuomo unveiled the first proposal from his 2017 agenda, a plan to make college tuition-free for New York’s working families at all SUNY and CUNY two- and four-year colleges. The Governor’s office announced that the tuition-free college degree program, called the “Excelsior Scholarship,” will be eligible to individuals making up to $125,000 per year.