Citizenship For N.Y. Shooting Victims?

Senators Look To Posthumously Award Citizenship To Immigrants Slain In Binghamton

(AP)  New York's senators said Wednesday they plan to ask Congress to grant citizenship posthumously to victims of Friday's shooting in Binghamton, N.Y.

Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand said that under legislation they are proposing, the honorary citizenship would be backdated so the victims would be considered citizens at the time of death.

They note in a statement that many of the 13 victims were striving to become citizens and studying English when they were killed by the gunman, and they came from a wide range of countries including Brazil, China, Haiti, Iraq, Pakistan, Philippines, Ukraine and Vietnam.

"We hope to honor the lives of those who were working so hard to become citizens and achieve the American dream," Gillibrand said.

The shooting occurred in an immigration center in upstate New York. It's not known exactly how many of them were citizens.

Because the citizenship would be honorary, family members seeking citizenship or visas would not be affected.


Profiles of Victims

Marc and Maria Bernard, from Haiti, were the parents of two young children - a boy in middle school and a girl in elementary school - and had been in their apartment in Endicott, New York, for maybe a year, according to neighbors in their complex.

They took classes at the immigrant center in the morning and worked in the afternoon - always back in time to greet their children from school. Maria, 46, worked at McDonald's and Marc, 44, had a manufacturing job before getting laid off several months ago.

"They were the kind of people you want to have in this country," said apartment manager Leroy Jackson. "They worked hard. They talked to everybody."

The Bernards were working to become citizens, he said.

They walked with their children all the time and played ball with them, Jackson said.

Trouble became apparent Friday when no one greeted the children at the apartment. Neighbor Carolyn Strong said an aunt took the children on Friday.

"They were home alone. They were never home alone. The father always met them," Strong said.

Parveen Ali, 26, of Pakistan, came to the United States in 2001 with her mother and two brothers. She worked odd jobs at a gas station and hotel while trying to get her high school equivalency diploma. She eventually wanted to go to college and become a teacher.

She was like a mother to her 24-year-old brother, Nadar Ali.

"It's an extreme pain," he said. He described his sister as "like the base of our family. How can I describe it to you? She played a significant role in our family."

Ali recently gained citizenship, which allowed her to sponsor two younger brothers still in Pakistan to come to the U.S., said Kaniz Fatima, a family friend. Ali hoped for a reunion that would get them safely from the violent border region with Afghanistan.

"All her dreams are buried with her," Fatima said.

Layla Khalil, 57, came to the U.S. with her husband and three children after surviving car bombings near her house in Baghdad, her family said Sunday.

Her children include a son who is doctoral student at Sorbonne University in Paris, a daughter who is a Fulbright Scholar at Binghamton University and a son in high school.

Her husband of 31 years, Samir Khalil, is a linguist who speaks three languages but couldn't find words to describe his pain.

"Feeling cannot be expressed about this situation because something unbelievable happened," he said.

Layla Khalil was a librarian in Iraq and an avid student of English. She loved coming to the immigrant aid center to learn English and about the cultures of other students.

The son in high school, 17-year-old Mustafa Alsalihi, said losing his mother was like losing the love in his life.

"The situation in Iraq is dangerous but we came here on the hope we'd be in a better place out of danger. It's peaceful."

Roberta King, 72, was teaching English to immigrants at the community center when the gunman invaded her class.

Dr. Jeffrey King, one of her 10 children, described his mother as brimming with interests ranging from the opera to the preservation society to her doll collection.

She and her husband, the late Dr. Abraham King, sent all their children to college, five of them to Cornell University in Ithaca.

Her son remembered telling her in a recent conversation to retire and enjoy herself.

"I said, 'Mom you're in your 70s,'" King said. "She said, 'What? You don't think I enjoy working?'"

Dolores Yigal, 53, lived in the Philippines and had been in the U.S. for about a year. She immigrated after marrying Binghamton resident Omri Yigal, who had been her pen pal.

"She dreamed of coming to America, and she had such praise for America and it was her dream," Yigal told CBS News.

Her husband said she loved children, raising her brother's daughter in the Philippines and dreaming of working with children here.

"She was the most happy when I agreed that she could work. She wanted to work very badly," Omri said. Learning English at the center was part of that goal.

He still recalls the first time he visited her in the Philippines. In the picture she had sent him, her hair was curly. But it was straight when they met, and Omri said he was disappointed.

She began wearing it curly again.

Maria Zobniw, 60, came to the U.S. from Ukraine as a child and worked as a part-time caseworker at the immigrant aid center.

"She's Ukrainian, and she knew how difficult it is for people to get adjusted and she knew several languages," her husband, Lubomyr, said Saturday, before her death was confirmed. "She saw it as her mission to help."

Maria Zobniw attended Harpur College (now Binghamton University) and was active teaching children Ukrainian language and traditions.

Her daughter, Zoriana, told CBS Affiliate WBNG that said she wasn't even scheduled to work at the American Civic Association Friday.

"Someone called in because they needed help and she said, 'OK, I will take the time and go there.' And if she had not gone, those 10 minutes, those crucial 10 minutes that she decided to go and help ... she would still be here," she said.

The family did not hear anything from police about her condition in over a day, but then two police officers showed up at their home with the devastating news.

"This entire house was a big scream and that's how we found out," Zoriana told WBNG.

"Within the family, she was able to hold the nucleus of the family together," her husband said. "She was very well read, and having that taken away, it's a great loss."

Almir Olimpio Alves, 43, was a mathematics professor at Pernambuco University in northeastern Brazil and was known for his easygoing manner and popularity with students.

He arrived in the U.S. in September to do post-doctoral work at Binghamton University. He had been taking English classes at the immigrant center where the shooting occurred, his wife told Brazilian media outlets. He had planned on returning to Brazil in July.

Marcia Pereira Lins Alves spoke to Brazilian TV network Globo from her home in Nazare da Mata, a small city northwest of the Pernambuco state capital of Recife.

She said she learned of her husband's death Saturday night, when the wife of a fellow university professor who is also in New York called her.

Gerson Henrique da Silva, who taught alongside Alves in Brazil, said he was beloved by both his students and the people in the community.

"He was a happy person who was always smiling. He talked to everybody in town," Silva told Globo.

Luis Alberto Rodrigues, a fellow math professor, said Alves' death was devastating for the college. "He was a young professor, but his academic qualities were recognized," he said. "We're feeling a huge loss at the university."

Alves had both a master's and a doctorate in mathematics from Pernambuco University.

He is survived by his wife and a 16-year-old son.

Li Guo, 47, of Tianjin, China, was a visiting research scholar from Shenzhen University. She joined Binghamton's Department of Public Administration in June 2008. Her appointment would have ended June 30.

[brianp55]

I have a better idea. Chuck Schumer should posthumously ADOPT all of those killed and support their survivors out of his own financial resources.

[lost_america]

Why not....

In an age when millions of illegal aliens who came here in total disregard of the law of this nation they dearly love are about to be given amnesty. (and more importantly free membership in the democratic party)

I say why not honor a few who took the high ground

You say we can't?

I say yes we can!

[SusanStoHelit]

It's free, it pays a little respect to the victims, why not? It won't cost us a penny, nor make other people eligible for free citizenship.

The people died persuing a dream of becoming a citizen - something that takes a lot of hard work - and were doing it the right way, by our laws. Why not recognize that?

[r_bob1965]

POST OF THE DAY to ->chimneyfish
Megawhy.......quote
*********************************************************************************************
"Does the law mean nothing to these Democrats!!! I am sooooo sick of this. They are the ones that will not allow an insane person like the killer to be put in an institution"
*********************************************************************************************
........sorry, but it was Reagan that closed down the mental hospitals to cut government spending on "entitlements".....not the democrats......but you can thank old Ronny, otherwise you would have no talking points since Rush would be institutionalized!

THANK YOU chimneyfish I love it -> TRUTH!

[seezero1]

I think Congress should also posthumously revoke the killer's citizenship.

[valh1]

Really not sure what to make of this!

[bpai99]

Ho hum, another senseless act of violence in which some bitter loser kills many people either at random or due to a grudge. Like the names of the Apollo astronauts, I can't keep them straight anymore since there's too many of them. My deepest sympathies to the victims and their families for the next 24 hours, until the next incident happens and attention shifts to that.

CBS and other outlets would be well-advised to relegate these stories to a "Shooting of the Day" section. Everyday/commonplace events like these shouldn't dominate the headlines.

[thetireguy1]

The gunman hand written note shows someone who had great penmanship!
What was the guys problem???
I am glad the news people didn't call this scum a gentleman like in past murder reports!
The guy face should be removed from any news outlets and just shown as a blank picture
and nothing more! I hope the family ships this un-human back to his homeland
and they(farmers) use his rotten corps as horse manure!

[albert571]

I can't beleave the post I just read! You are one self centered peice of S--T.These people all deserve the best we have to offer them and I think it should go without saying !The only one grandstanding is you!Think befor you type!

[megawhy]

Does the law mean nothing to these Democrats!!! I am sooooo sick of this. They are the ones that will not allow an insane person like the killer to be put in an institution, then they try to make up for it by breaking the law, violating the Constitution, and making a mockery of this entire tragedy. This is a mockery of US Citizenship!

Shumer is a sick, sick person. He needs to be thrown out of office!

[diamruby]

They were killed by one of their own people, which is the case in most murders etc. that we are seeing. It is sad that he destroyed the lives of such wonderfull people that truly were making a difference in their lives. The relatives that knew of his problems are responsible for not getting the police notified & getting him help, I would think that the people in the immigration center would be more alert to possible problems like this. It is too bad that these people have to kill others instead of just killing themselves. The world is full of problems & always will be, we need to be more alert for these people that have mental illness & get them off the streets.