The U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday, 217-213, to approve the American Health Care Act. The following is a statement from Steven Choi, Executive Director of the New York Immigration Coalition:
"The House of Representatives voted Thursday to rob health care from 2.7 million New Yorkers and give a huge tax break to the rich.
During his first 100 days in office, President Trump and his administration have attacked immigrant communities in the United States through a sweeping set of executive actions. These actions have included unconstitutional Muslim bans, efforts to stop refugee admissions, and increased immigration deportation and raids.
On Wednesday, Mayor de Blasio released an $84.9 billion budget for New York City against a backdrop of uncertainty from the Federal government. Steve Choi, Executive Director of the New York Immigration Coalition, said:
"The New York Immigration Coalition applauds NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio’s commitment to investing an unprecedented 16.4 million in legal services for people facing deportation and detention, unaccompanied children, and asylum seekers.
A San Francisco judge blocked enforcement of President Trump’s executive order barring federal funds from so-called sanctuary cities Tuesday. In response, Steve Choi, Executive Director of the New York Immigration Coalition, released the following statement:
"The New York Immigration Coalition applauds U.S. District Court Judge William Orrick's preliminary injunction against the Department of Justice (DOJ) order to deny funding to sanctuary cities.
The Justice Department sent letters to eight cities Friday that threaten to withhold federal grant money if they don’t demonstrate cooperation with immigration enforcement.
In response, Steve Choi, Executive Director of the New York Immigration Coalition released the following statement:
“Threatening to strip cities of critical federal funding is senseless and hypocritical.
In response to news reports, Steven Choi, Executive Director of the New York Immigration Coalition, released the following statement:
"It is shocking that the federal government is deporting DREAMers like Juan Manuel Montes; people who have legal permission to live in the United States under DACA. The Trump Administration’s vicious policies will make all Americans unsafe.
Americans could wind up facing felony charges for giving someone a ride
On Tuesday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a widely reported memo to the Department of Justice outlining new policies targeting undocumented immigrants living in the United States.
“The 2017 budget is a disappointment for our four million immigrant New Yorkers, at a time when President Trump’s Muslim bans, deportation threats, and proposed budget cuts have directly threatened our communities. Although we are pleased with the IDC’s historic investment of $10 million for critical immigration services, there remain unaddressed gaps in legal services, undocumented youth have been excluded from the Excelsior Scholarship, and the budget did not address other important issues such as adult education.
Steven Choi, Executive Director of NYIC, responds to recent ruling in favor of IDNYC:
“The New York Immigration Coalition is thrilled with the judge's ruling allowing the City to properly safeguard the privacy and personal documents of IDNYC cardholders, including the tens of thousands of New York's immigrants who have benefited greatly from all of the City's resources.
In another victory for immigrant communities and advocates, Federal District Judge Derrick Watson in Hawai’i extended his order blocking President Trump’s “Muslim and refugee” ban indefinitely. Earlier this month, President Trump issued his “Muslim Ban 2.0,” a second attempt at an executive order barring refugee resettlement for up to four months, stopping travel from six Muslim-majority countries, and limiting the U.S refugee resettlement quota to 50,000 refugees per year.
