Today, Governor Cuomo announced his Liberty Defense Project, a program which proposes to offer pro-bono legal services and other resources to immigrants regardless of their status.
New York Immigration Coalition Executive Director, Steven Choi, released the following statement:
"There looks like there’s not a single public dollar that goes to legal defense, which stands in sharp contrast to other states that are leading the way against the anti-immigrant onslaught from the federal government.
On Tuesday, March 21, 2017, Mayor de Blasio, Speaker Mark-Viverito, Chancellor Fariña, and Commissioner Agarwal announced new guidance to schools around requests for access to schools and records by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Key provisions of the guidance include: sending the ICE officer outside the school while ICE’s paperwork is checked, requiring the principal to consult with the Senior Field Counsel before responding to ICE, notifying the parent after consulting with the Senior Field Counsel, and requiring judicial warrants as access criteria.
Yesterday, in a narrow 19-17 vote, the U.S. House Budget Committee voted to send the American Health Care Act (AHCA) to the floor of the House of Representatives.
The following is a statement from Steven Choi, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition:
“Yesterday, Representative John Faso had the opportunity to stand up for all New Yorkers by voting no on the American Health Care Act, a bill that would be a disaster for New Yorkers, including the millions of immigrants who now depend on the guarantee of quality, affordable health coverage that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides.
In a decision released earlier today, U.S. federal Judge Derrick Watson ruled to issue a temporary restraining order on President Trump’s second "Muslim ban.” The executive order would have banned travel for individuals from six Muslim-majority countries and halted the country's refugee resettlement program.
The U.S. House Budget Committee is expected to vote this week on the American Health Care Act, the Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act.
The following is a statement from Steven Choi, Executive Director of the New York Immigration Coalition:
“As the sole New York member of the Republican majority on the House Budget Committee, Congressman John Faso should to stand up for all New Yorkers by voting against advancing the American Health Care Act (AHCA) out of committee.
In aftermath of Federal Executive Orders on Immigration, New York’s Immigrant Communities Need Services More Than Ever
Today, legal service providers and advocates came together at Foley Square to urge State and City elected leaders to provide the necessary funding in their respective budgets for immigration legal services.
Today 30+ organizations and dozens of students launched the College Opportunity and Resource Expansion (CORE) campaign to extend college affordability for all New York's students, increase rewards for current recipients, expand income thresholds and create a $50 million zero-interest student loan fund.
Today, Donald Trump signed a “Muslim Ban 2.0” executive order targeting travelers and immigrants from six Muslim-majority countries, including Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen (Iraq was removed from the original list). The new order, meant to avoid the legal challenges against the original executive order, excludes green-card holders and no longer permanently bars Syrian refugees.
On Monday, New York State Education Commissioner Elia and A.G. Schneiderman released joint guidance reminding districts across the State of their duty to uphold key protections for immigrant students. The guidance underscores that all students – regardless of their immigration status – have the right to attend school in the district where they reside and notes that schools should not ask about status.
Last night, President Trump gave his first major speech to a joint session of Congress. Despite rumors of support for legalization of undocumented immigrants, President Trump continued to scapegoat immigrant communities for America’s economic troubles, defend his discriminatory refugee and “backdoor” Muslim ban, and generalize immigrants as “criminals,” including the creation of a new office called Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE). The President also suggested that he is in favor of replacing the country’s successful, longstanding commitment to a family-based immigration system with an untested new “merit-based” immigration system.
