New York Must Invest In Immigration Legal Services, Pass the Access to Representation Act

First-in-the-nation bill would establish a right to legal counsel in immigration proceedings

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Facebook Live Stream Here

Albany, NY—Today, elected officials joined the CARE for Immigrant Families coalition at the New York State Capitol to rally in support of a $150 million investment in immigrant legal services to ease pressure on the backlog of cases and ensure recent arrivals can swiftly apply for work.

Mark Poloncarz Denies Language Justice to Erie County Immigrants with Veto

Buffalo—Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz recently vetoed the Erie County Language Access Act. This historic legislation would have mandated all public facing county agencies to implement language access plans and provide equitable language access to residents by requiring translation of public documents into the top six spoken languages, and free interpretation services for all county residents.

Advocates & Researchers Highlight New Data On Positive Economic Impact Of New NYC Immigrants

Report Underscores Need For Legal Services And Pathways To Work For Recently Arrived Asylum Seekers 

The event was streamed on Facebook Live

Photos and videos are available here

New York, NY—Today, advocates highlighted newly-released data by the Immigration Research Initiative on the economic prospects of new arrivals and their positive contributions to New York City’s economy.

Immigrant NYers To Hochul: Don’t Leave Our Communities Out

New York, NY—Today, Governor Hochul delivered her State of the State address to announce her priorities for New York in 2024. Her address was focused on the ways in which the state hopes to support and uplift working families, yet she failed to mention any plans to significantly support and integrate immigrant New Yorkers, including renewing her landmark investment in legal services funding for immigrant New Yorkers.

Immigrant Rights Advocates Demand Solutions, Not Lawsuits

New York, NY—Today, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced a $700 million lawsuit against 17 charter bus companies for transporting asylum seekers from Texas to New York. 

Murad Awawdeh, Executive Director, New York Immigration Coalition:

“For almost two years, Mayor Adams has treated the arrival of asylum seekers as an emergency, trying everything he can to dissuade asylum seekers from coming to New York rather than developing an efficient and thoughtful process to welcome them.

More Political Football: Adams Busing EO Hurts Asylum Seekers & NYC

New York, NY—Last week, NYC Mayor Eric Adams issued an executive order that placed limits on how buses of asylum seekers being sent by Texas Governor Greg Abbott could arrive in New York City. Since issuing the order, buses have still arrived at Port Authority, to other parts of Manhattan, and increasingly in New Jersey.

Immigrant Advocates Say No More Cuts to Education, Support Teachers’ Union Lawsuit Against Adams

New York, NY—Today, the United Federation of Teachers, joined by individual teachers, filed suit in Manhattan State Supreme Court to stop the Adams administration from cutting as much as $2 billion from city schools. The lawsuit charges that as the State increased education funding to the city's public schools, New York City illegally reduced its contribution to education.