Coalition Applauds Governor Cuomo’s Creation of Immigrant Legal Defense Fund

November 21st, 2016

State’s Effort to Coordinate Legal Services Demonstrates Critical Commitment to Immigrant Communities

Today, Governor Cuomo announced the first-ever creation of an immigrant legal defense fund to coordinate state immigration legal services through a new public-private initiative. With the uncertainty around Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and potentially increased deportations, this legal defense fund will seek to provide the best possible legal services by engaging diverse partners including law firms, law schools, colleges and universities, nonprofit organizations, and legal service providers.

The following is a statement from Steven Choi, executive director of New York Immigration Coalition:

“We applaud Governor Cuomo’s historic creation of this statewide immigrant legal defense fund. This is a huge step for New York’s four million immigrants, at a time when the Coalition’s members and their constituents face widespread fear and anxiety about the future. We thank the Governor for responding to these needs with this bold leadership stroke, and will work closely with him to ensure that it is a success.”

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The New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) is an umbrella policy and advocacy organization for nearly 200 groups in New York State that work with immigrants and refugees. The NYIC aims to achieve a fairer and more just society that values the contributions of immigrants and extends opportunity to all by promoting immigrants’ full civic participation, fostering their leadership, and providing a unified voice and a vehicle for collective action for New York’s diverse immigrant communities.