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We Should Continue to Be a Nation of Immigrants
I was talking with a friend the other day about immigration. It’s one of the most divisive issues of our time, and we, too, found ourselves divided. “Our country is full,” he quoted President Trump, who said this back in April. “Let’s improve the country with the people we already have,” my friend added. I had […]
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I was talking with a friend the other day about immigration. It’s one of the most divisive issues of our time, and we, too, found ourselves divided. “Our country is full,” he quoted President Trump, who said this back in April. “Let’s improve the country with the people we already have,” my friend added.
I had a quote, too, and it’s one I still believe in. You’ll find it on the Statue of Liberty. “From her beacon-hand/Glows world-wide welcome,” it reads. And then, of course, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
I welcome new immigrants and want this country to set aside the nationalistic appeals and racial prejudice that often accompany calls for restrictions. And I believe firmly that immigration makes us stronger as a nation and represents the best of what we stand for. This country is a defender of individual rights, a beacon of tolerance and equality, and a champion of the notion that offering opportunity to all who live here — regardless of national origin — yields the innovation and hard work that drive our economy and culture.
I could take up the rest of this commentary just listing the immigrants who have enriched the United States, from Levi Strauss, Irving Berlin, and Albert Einstein to Liz Claiborne, Gloria Estafan, Yo-Yo Ma, and Patrick Ewing. But it’s not just names you’d recognize. I have a clear memory from my time in Washington, D.C., of watching people who’d immigrated literally build the city: its stormwater system, its metro lines, the refurbished Union Station. The same is true in any big city you care to visit in this country — and in our fields and orchards, our hotels and hospitals, our factories, our schools, our startups, our military forces, our movie studios… You get the idea.
Now, I agree that we can’t let everyone into the U.S. who wants to come. We simply don’t have the resources. But that’s a far cry from saying that we’re full, or that we’re facing an immigrant “invasion,” or that large numbers of immigrants are “stealing” jobs from Americans. I believe there’s very little evidence to support any of those claims.
Instead, I’d argue that immigration is an opportunity for the country. One of the first votes I cast in Congress was for the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which prohibited discrimination against immigrants on the basis of their nationality. Instead, it gave preference to professionals, people with skills the country needed, and relatives of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents.
That same principle is valid today. We have to use immigration to meet our needs, especially in the labor market. Every month for the last year and a half, the U.S. economy has had more job openings than people looking for work. And in a twist from what you’d expect, it’s not the higher-end jobs that face the most acute shortages. It’s health-care, hotel, and restaurant workers who are in the highest demand. In an array of categories, from retail to food processing to landscaping, we don’t have the low-skilled laborers we need. The need for scientists, researchers, computer programmers and other knowledge workers hasn’t abated, either. And nor has the need for workers with skills that won’t soon be replaced by automation.
There was a time when both political parties in this country largely supported immigration. Not unanimously, of course, but they favored immigration in the national interest. I don’t know if those days are over for good; I hope not. Because there is simply no question that this country has been made stronger by its immigrants, and there is no reason to think that will change.
So while I’m not arguing that we should throw open our doors to all comers, we should lean toward openness, recognizing that we have limits and constraints that demand building immigration policy around a principle. And what should that be? That immigration is a powerful tool for meeting our needs, strengthening our labor markets, bolstering our pool of talent, and remaining a beacon to those everywhere who believe that their own hard work, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit can build their own lives and contribute to the communities around them.
Lee Hamilton is a senior advisor for the Indiana University (IU) Center on Representative Government, distinguished scholar at IU Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, and professor of practice at the IU O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Hamilton, a Democrat, was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years, representing a district in south central Indiana.

JOHN DOMANSKI was appointed to manage Popli Design Group’s electrical team in Syracuse. He comes to Popli Design with 33 years of experience in electrical system design and project management for a wide variety of industries. Domanski received his bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University.
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JOHN DOMANSKI was appointed to manage Popli Design Group’s electrical team in Syracuse. He comes to Popli Design with 33 years of experience in electrical system design and project management for a wide variety of industries. Domanski received his bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University.

Delta Engineers, Architects, & Land Surveyors, DPC
TYLER J. KOST has joined Delta Engineers, Architects, & Land Surveyors, DPC in its Endwell office as an assistant engineer in the firm’s facilities group. He recently graduated from Clarkson University with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and also holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from St. Lawrence University. KURT J. HAKOLA has joined
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TYLER J. KOST has joined Delta Engineers, Architects, & Land Surveyors, DPC in its Endwell office as an assistant engineer in the firm’s facilities group. He recently graduated from Clarkson University with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and also holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from St. Lawrence University.
KURT J. HAKOLA has joined the firm’s Endwell office as an engineer in the facilities group. He earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering technology at the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2013 and brings prior industry experience working as project engineer and project manager.
CHRISTOPHER S. THOMAS has rejoined Delta’s Endwell office as a project manager in the facilities group. He brings more than 20 years of industry design and management experience working on variety of structures for public and private clients.
BIANCA N. LITTLE has joined Delta Precast in Vernon as an engineer. She recently graduated from Syracuse University with a master’s degree in civil engineering, and also holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from SUNY Polytechnic Institute. Little has one year of industry experience.

GENNIFER HENDERSON has been named manager of compensation and benefits at Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS). She will collaborate with the health system’s total rewards team on existing programs as well as support new initiatives around designing and implementing pay and benefits for the new medical center. Henderson was previously manager of benefits and compensation
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GENNIFER HENDERSON has been named manager of compensation and benefits at Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS). She will collaborate with the health system’s total rewards team on existing programs as well as support new initiatives around designing and implementing pay and benefits for the new medical center. Henderson was previously manager of benefits and compensation and human resource information systems at PAR Technology Corp. in New Hartford for nearly 25 years. She attended Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica and has received training in Affordable Care Act reporting, virtual compensation essentials, emotional intelligence, and emergent leader training.

GHASSAN KOUSSA, M.D., has been named medical director for the intensive care unit at the St. Luke’s campus of MVHS. Koussa works with the MVHS Pulmonary and Critical Care Group and has privileges at Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare and St. Elizabeth Medical Center. He also serves as medical director of pulmonary rehabilitation at the Faxton
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GHASSAN KOUSSA, M.D., has been named medical director for the intensive care unit at the St. Luke’s campus of MVHS. Koussa works with the MVHS Pulmonary and Critical Care Group and has privileges at Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare and St. Elizabeth Medical Center. He also serves as medical director of pulmonary rehabilitation at the Faxton campus and medical director of the respiratory care program through Mohawk Valley Community College. Koussa was previously affiliated with Frisbie Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New Hampshire, as a staff physician in pulmonary and critical care medicine and medical director of the lung cancer screening program. He earned his medical degree from St. George’s University School of Medicine in Grenada, West Indies. Koussa completed an internal medicine residency, internal medicine chief residency, and a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Albany Medical College in Albany. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the American University of Beirut in Beirut, Lebanon and is board certified in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, and critical care medicine.

FLH Medical, P.C. has added two new providers. ASHLEY HARRIS has joined C Interlakes Orthopaedic Surgery and ASHLEY PAJK has joined FLH Medical’s Geneva Primary Care. Starting as a certified nursing assistant in long term care for Finger Lakes Health, Harris advanced to become a registered nurse for surgical services at Geneva General Hospital. She
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FLH Medical, P.C. has added two new providers. ASHLEY HARRIS has joined C Interlakes Orthopaedic Surgery and ASHLEY PAJK has joined FLH Medical’s Geneva Primary Care.
Starting as a certified nursing assistant in long term care for Finger Lakes Health, Harris advanced to become a registered nurse for surgical services at Geneva General Hospital. She graduated from Monroe Community College with an associate degree in applied sciences and then earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing at the University of Texas at Arlington and received her master’s degree in family nurse practitioner from St. John Fisher College, near Rochester.
Pajk began her career as a nutrition services associate and then a certified nursing associate, before becoming a registered nurse and a student nurse practitioner. In 2007, Pajk graduated from Finger Lakes Community College with an associate degree in applied science. She later earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing and a master’s degree in nursing in the adult-gerontology nurse practitioner program.

LEAH ISGAR has joined Bankers Healthcare Group (BHG) as a senior talent acquisition partner. She previously was a dual career and talent acquisition manager at Syracuse University. DEBRA NORVELL and EMILY SALAMONE have joined BHG as accounting clerks. Norvell previously worked as an accounting coordinator with WellNow Urgent Care and Salamone previously interned at Rapid
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LEAH ISGAR has joined Bankers Healthcare Group (BHG) as a senior talent acquisition partner. She previously was a dual career and talent acquisition manager at Syracuse University. DEBRA NORVELL and EMILY SALAMONE have joined BHG as accounting clerks. Norvell previously worked as an accounting coordinator with WellNow Urgent Care and Salamone previously interned at Rapid Response Monitoring. VINCENT CUPO joins as an account executive. He has more than eight years of sales experience with technology and telecommunications companies. KEVIN BOND joins as a credit card account executive. Prior to BHG, he worked as a business development consultant at Oracle. AUSTIN HORNA and PRISCILLA THUNDERBERK join BHG as junior account managers. Horna previously worked at Herc Rentals as a territory sales rep and Thunderberk worked at Bank of America. STEVEN WANTZ joins as a salesforce administrator. He has three-and-a-half years of project-management experience and nearly six years of experience with Salesforce. JAMIE KOSECKI joins BHG as a senior manager of technology operations. He has 15 years of experience in the medical industry in the areas of new product development, research & development, sustaining engineering, and system integrations along with two years of experience in the financial industry focused on enterprise integrations of OCR (optical character recognition) and RPA (robotic process automation) technologies.

St. Joseph’s Health formally opens new Camillus medical center
CAMILLUS, N.Y. — St. Joseph’s Health on Thursday formally opened its new medical center in Camillus, in the former Bon-Ton department store building at 5301

Utica College receives largest bequest in school history
UTICA, N.Y. — The Lotis B. Howland trust has donated $2.35 million to Utica College (UC), representing the largest bequest in the college’s history. The

Potsdam man arrested for making unauthorized purchases on company credit card
POTSDAM, N.Y. — The New York State Police on Tuesday arrested James D. Spear, age 52, of Potsdam, after an investigation revealed that he made
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