Tom Suozzi: Immigration, taxes among priorities in 3rd Congressional District race

Former Rep. Tom Suozzi, pictured Dec. 9, 2023 in Levittown, released... — Former Rep. Tom Suozzi, pictured Dec. 9, 2023 in Levittown, released a list of campaign priorities in his race against Republican candidate Mazi Melesa Pilip in the 3rd Congressional District special election. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin

By Michael Gormleymichael.gormley@newsday.com @GormleyAlbanyUpdated December 19, 2023

ALBANY — Democrat Tom Suozzi on Monday said immigration, taxes and abortion are among his top 10 issues as he seeks to retake his 3rd Congressional District seat in a Feb. 13 special election.

“We must move beyond our petty, partisan, performative finger-pointing and address the real problems people face,” said Suozzi.

Suozzi faces Mazi Melesa Pilip, a registered Democrat chosen by Republicans as their candidate for the seat that was vacated by the expulsion of former GOP Rep. George Santos. Santos was expelled from the House on Dec. 1, after a House Ethics Committee report found “substantial evidence” he engaged in “unlawful conduct” and knowingly deceived campaign donors “for his own personal financial profit.”

Suozzi proposes:

Immigration: Creation of a path to citizenship for 1.9 million immigrant children brought to the U.S. by their parents without documentation, often referred to as “Dreamers,” and three years’ protective status for their relatives; a path to citizenship for 400,000 immigrants given “temporary protective status” after facing disasters, violence and extreme poverty; and a proposal to require asylum-seekers to pay a $2,000 fee to offset the cost of handling the influx of immigrants to the United States.

Taxes: Repeal of a law passed under former Republican President Donald Trump that capped the amount of state and local taxes that filers can deduct from federal income taxes. The act paid for a tax cut for corporations, but also nearly doubled the standard deduction. In 2021, Suozzi sponsored a successful repeal bill in the House that died in the U.S. Senate.

Abortion: He would “stand up to extreme attacks on reproductive freedom” and codify the national right to abortion that was lost when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision.

Israel and Ukraine: He would support Israel in its war against Hamas militants and “will continue to support Ukraine’s military and its accession to NATO.”

Pilip didn't respond to a request for comment. Nassau GOP spokesman Mike Deery responded by saying Suozzi failed to stop thousands of immigrants from relocating to Nassau and Queens, supported health care reform that Deery said would “cause taxes to soar” and “supported Joe Biden's failed agenda 100% of the time.”

Deery also said Suozzi ultimately failed to repeal Trump's measure to cap state and local taxes from federal income taxes “despite repeated promises.”