By Lena Masri and Mia Garchitorena

Ted Cruz, the first Hispanic to serve as U.S. Senator from Texas, announced in March that he is running for president.

He will be participating in an election that is likely to be very expensive. Much more money can now be spent on The Presidential Election Campaign of 2016 becauseThe Supreme Court has lifted restrictions on election spending, allowing an unlimited amount of financial contributions to pour into politics.

And Cruz is in the running for most accounted contributions from private employers thus far. Just in his first week as presidential candidate, he raised $2 million, doubling his initial goal of $1 million for the time period.

Most of his largest contributions come from retirees and self-employers, according to data from The Federal Election Commission, an independent regulatory agency that discloses campaign financial information.

Other candidates like Hillary Clinton have only recently started their fundraising campaign.

http://digitalstorage.journalism.cuny.edu/mia.garchitorena/STORY3ROUGHD.html

By: Lena Masri and Mia Garchitorena

Money is likely to play a big role in the 2016 presidential election.

This month The Supreme Court lifted restrictions on election spending, removing a decades-old cap on the total amount any individual can contribute to federal candidates in a two-year election cycle.

In 2012, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, who were the two major party candidates for president spent close to $1.12 billion — not counting the millions more spent by the parties and outside groups, according to OpenSecrets.org. Overall, the presidential race cost more than $2.6 billion in that cycle. But next year’s election is expected to be even more expensive. Hillary Clinton, the U.S.’s first female presidential candidate, raised over $9 million in contributor funds in 2014 and has set a $2.5 billion fundraising goal for 2016. 

So who are the donors so far?

We want to create a chart that shows all the 62 groups that are so far known to be associated with potential 2016 presidential candidates.

Here is a link to the data: https://www.opensecrets.org/pres16/outsidegroups.php

We would also like to make charts that show how much money was spent back in 2012 just to give an idea of how much money can be spent on the 2016 election now that even more money has been allowed to pour into politics. Here is a link to the data:

https://www.opensecrets.org/pres12/

http://www.fec.gov/data/DataCatalog.do

Potential sources:

Lawrence Lessig, the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School, and director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University.

Dr. Timothy Lukes, Professor of Political Science at Santa Clara University

Deborah Hellman, Professor of Law, University of Virginia

Dr. Thomas R Marshall, Professor at Political Science, University of Texas Arlington

Chris Arterton 
Professor of Political Management
Founding Dean of the Graduate School of Political Management, George Washington University

MEDIA CONTACTS: George Washington University

John Brandt
202-994-3199; johnbrandt@gwu.edu
Jill Sankey
202-994-6466; jpsankey@gwu.edu

According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, 37% of New Yorkers between the ages of 18-64 years old are handicapped.

Wheelchair accessibility in New York subway stations are not completely scarce. There are 38 subway stations in Manhattan that are accessible to handicapped people and most of them are in major locations of high-ridership.

Stations outside of Midtown, such as the 168th Street and 181st Street locations in Washington Heights, are only accessible by stairway.

Parks, train stations and playgrounds are some of the most common places outside of subway stations that have publicly handicap accessible bathrooms.

http://cdb.io/1CTmkfv

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/documents/Disability%20tip%20sheet%20_PHPa_1.pdf

http://digitalstorage.journalism.cuny.edu/mia.garchitorena/public_html/idnyc/undocument.html

A Look at the Undocumented Population in the Boroughs

Undocumented immigrants in New York can now identify themselves thanks to the idNYC initiative. The card, a free I.D. that began this past January, is a municipal I.D. that works the same way a state I.D. does. However, the card doesn’t require as much paperwork as a state I.D. For those who were unable to receive a state I.D., such as undocumented immigrants, this card is  beneficial. Using the card can allow access to government buildings and provides an official identification if approached by police.

Over 65 percent of undocumented immigrants have moved to the New York City from all over the world since 2000. The Center of Migration Studies cites when these undocumented immigrants moved to the United States and what countries they moved from. This map categorizes undocumented immigrants by borough, population and race. Further studies on particular races will provide the reasons for their migration to New York.

Currently thousands of undocumented immigrants remain unknown in New York City, a problem Mayor de Blasio’s office sought to change with the idNYC initiative. The idNYC card was developed with the immigrant community in mind. Both immigrants and citizens lined up at idNYC offices, waiting three hours or more for an appointment. Over 44,000 applications were processed during its introduction and as of Feb. 27, over 260,000 appointments at enrollment centers were booked, according to a mayoral administrative assistant.

   “This is a first step toward including undocumented people in society. Hopefully the entire state will except this card soon,” said Melissa Garcia, a member of the immigration information center New York State Youth Leadership Council.

The number of undocumented immigrants in New York has risen tremendously since 2000, according to the Center of Migration Studies. About 27% of unauthorized immigrants, documented by the 2012 census, came to the U.S. during the years 2000-2004. Out of 25 countries, the Dominican Republic has seen the most immigration with 11% of its population moving to the United States.

A Columbia University socioeconomic profile study on Dominicans shows that New York City has the highest concentration of Dominicans in the U.S., with over 300,000 Dominicans moving between 1990 to 2000. Dominicans now outnumber Puerto Ricans, according to the Center for Latin American, Caribbean & Latino Studies (CLCL), with over 140,000 Dominicans moving to NYC between 2010 to 2013. One reason for this surge in population is that Dominicans seemed to leave the country while Haitians moved in.

The Center of Migration also shows that there is a minute amount of undocumented immigrants from Africa. In 2012, over 5,000 undocumented Ghanians and 2,000 undocumented Nigerians moved to New York City. Less than 1,000 moved from Ethiopia. The United States Census Bureau states that the African population in the United States has doubled every decade since 1970. The number of African immigrants in New York continues to increase, but most seem to move here legally.

Proving residency and identity is difficult for some undocumented immigrants. Most undocumented immigrants in New York live anonymously in fear of being detected or deported by officials. idNYC particularly aims at helping immigrants to not be afraid of reaching out for assistance from government agencies.

“Generally, this should be seen as a platform for undocumented immigrants to come out of the closet and be transparent about their status,” said Wernick. “The more people come out of the shadows, the more likely we are to see real immigration reform.”

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