Albany, NY – Today, Sen. Brad Hoylman, Assemblymember Catalina Cruz, and the Campaign for Access, Representation & Equity (CARE) for Immigrant Families coalition rallied on the State Capitol’s Million Dollar Staircase to call on Governor Hochul and legislative leaders to support the Access to Representation Act (ARA). This first-in-the-nation bill would establish a right to counsel in immigration court proceedings.

Erie County, NY—Today, the Language Access Working Group and Buffalo Public Schools gathered at Lafayette High School to hold a language access town hall in support of the Erie County and New York State language access bills. The event included a panel discussion of refugee and immigrant community leaders impacted by a lack of language access in Erie County and New York State.

New York, NY—In response to the earthquake that has devastated Türkiye and Syria and taken more than 3,000 lives, the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) called for an immediate designation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Deferred Enforced Departure (DED), and Special Student Relief (SSR) for Turkish people in the United States, and for further extending and redesignating TPS for Syrian people.

New York, NY—Today, Governor Hochul released her FY24 executive budget, which included limited and insufficient funding for immigrant New Yorkers. Governor Hochul included $43M in funding for immigration legal services and the Office for New Americans, while failing to include any investment to expand health coverage for all New Yorkers, regardless of their immigration status.

New York, NY—Yesterday, asylum seekers refused to leave the Watson Hotel, after the city attempted to move them to a new 1,000-bed HERRC at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. 

Murad Awawdeh, Executive Director, New York Immigration Coalition:

“Housing rights experts and immigrant rights advocates like ourselves have been stating for weeks that the new Brooklyn Cruise Terminal HERRC is in a transit desert, much like the Orchard Beach and Randalls Island locations were, and doesn’t meet the health and safety needs of residents.

New York—On Friday, January 27, the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), elected officials, member organizations, housing and education rights allies, police reform organizations, and immigrant New Yorkers rallied and held a press conference on the City Hall Steps.

New York, NY—Today, New York City Mayor Eric Adams delivered his second State of the City address, barely mentioning the needs of immigrant New Yorkers. In his hour-long address, Mayor Adams briefly spoke of the work the City has done to welcome asylum seekers, but spent most of that time calling on other levels of government for help.

New York–NYC Mayor Adams has released a FY2024 preliminary budget that does little to address the increase in new arrivals to New York City and the challenges facing all low-income families. Yet he continues to stoke division by misleading the public with MAGA talking points, scapegoating asylum seekers to justify his austerity budget.

New York, NY—Yesterday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams released the City’s preliminary budget for fiscal year 2024, with relatively little investment made to support immigrant New Yorkers to fully integrate and thrive in New York City. Today, his Administration asked the State to commit funding to support asylum seekers, in addition to their calls to the Federal government.

New York, NY—Today, Governor Hochul delivered her State of the State address and failed to include any mention of her vision for a New York agenda that includes immigrant New Yorkers. In her State of the State briefing book, Governor Hochul committed to working towards retraining immigrants who previously worked in skilled jobs, connecting asylum seekers with agricultural and food industry jobs, providing funding for refugee resettlement programs, expanding funding for the Office of New Americans, and expanding Essential Plan and Medicaid coverage for low-income New Yorkers.