Whether newly arriving in hopes of finding safety or long-time New Yorkers, immigrants at risk of deportation do not have the right to a lawyer if they cannot afford one. New York State has long been the national leader in supporting legal services for immigrants. Yet, even with strong existing programs, as of September 2023, nearly 145,000 people in New York were fighting for their lives in immigration court without a lawyer. Legal services have a significant impact on the outcome of deportation proceedings for immigrants—78 percent of immigrants with lawyers win their cases, while only 15 percent of immigrants without representation are successful in their cases.
Over the past year, New York has gained a sizable number of new residents who urgently need legal services to navigate our complex immigration system, obtain work authorization, and build stable lives. In the short-term, New York must increase funding in the budget for existing and new immigration legal services—including investments in infrastructure to sustainably recruit and train immigration legal teams. Investing in humane immigration policies that enable more community members to remain at home, on the job, and with their families makes our state safer for everyone and benefits our economy.
The state must prioritize investments to provide deportation defense services for immigrants, to fund recruitment and training of legal teams, build needed infrastructure, and responsibly expand rapid-response services like support with applications for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), work authorization, and asylum; and to fund and connect immigrants with programs that help them preserve their rights, gain citizenship and other immigration benefits, participate in the workforce, and learn English.
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