New York for All 

Our entire community is safer when all residents, regardless of immigration status, feel safe driving to work, taking their kids to school and reporting crimes to law enforcement. Unfortunately, many members of the immigrant community often feel unsafe interacting with state and local government agencies for fear that this will lead to a devastating interaction with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The Westchester County Immigration Protection Act was an important local step in building trust between local residents and law enforcement by defining what information county law enforcement can share with federal officials. It is now critical that we bring this legislation to the state level.

We need to pass the New York for All Act (S.987 Gounardes / A.5686 Reyes) to broadly prohibit state and local officers from enforcing federal immigration laws, funneling people into ICE custody, and sharing sensitive information with federal immigration authorities. The Act also prohibits ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from entering non-public areas of state and local property without a judicial warrant. It also ensures that people in custody are given notice of their rights before being interviewed by ICE, and begins the process of limiting ICE and CBP access to state information databases.

Local Steps to Defend and Protect Immigrants

The Westchester County Immigrant Protection Act (IPA) only applies to County employees. In terms of law enforcement, the IPA applies to Westchester County Department of Public Safety employees. The IPA does not apply to the dozens of local police departments that provide law enforcement for municipalities across the county. 

There are a variety of potential policies municipalities can take to safeguard immigrants, many of which have already been implemented by municipalities in Westchester. Click here for more information on how you work to ensure that your municipality is taking steps to safeguard
immigrants.

Access to Representation Act 

Unlike in the criminal legal system, immigrants do not have a right to a government-paid attorney in immigration court. As a result, immigrants who cannot afford a lawyer or find a nonprofit organization to help must represent themselves in immigration proceedings. These proceedings are often complicated and difficult, even for the most well-educated layperson and this is compounded for people who may have limited English language. The consequences of losing a case are devastating, including detention in dangerous facilities, permanent family separation and people being returned to unsafe situations. As of September 2023, nearly 145,000 people in New York were fighting their cases in immigration court without a lawyer.

Representation alone can significantly increase the chances of winning a case. Studies have shown that immigrants with representation are up to 10 times more likely to obtain relief from deportation than those without, and that detained immigrants with representation are 3.5 times more likely to be granted bond, enabling their release from detention.

We need to pass the Access to Representation Act (S999A Hoyman-Sigal / A170A Cruz) to ensure the right to counsel for all immigrants facing deportation in New York. This Act would mandate that New York State appoint a lawyer for anyone who cannot afford one and who is at risk of deportation.

Legal Services Funding

New York State has been a national leader in supporting immigration legal services. However, even with strong existing programs, as of October 2024, more than 170,000 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.

Given the policies of the Trump administration, New York needs to urgently 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.

We need to invest in $165 million in immigration services and infrastructure, with $100 million focused on direct immigration legal services and $65 million for higher education to build immigration legal services infrastructure.

Bolstering Unrepresented Immigrant Legal Defense Act (BUILD)

New York needs to ensure stability in our immigration legal services so that immigrant New Yorkers can keep their families together, continue working and contributing to their communities. The BUILD Act funds the infrastructure necessary for legal service providers to create, maintain, and expand robust programs to protect immigrant communities.

Language Access

Many immigrant New Yorkers are unable to access critical state services due to language barriers. Under current law, state agencies must provide for the translation of vital documents in the 12 most commonly spoken non-English languages and provide interpretation services in any language with respect to the provision of agency services or benefits. Despite this, interpretation and translation services remain inconsistent at the county level, particularly at the Department of Motor Vehicles and Department of Education.

We need to pass the Language Access Expansion Act (S3381A- A7235) to expand access to language services to regional areas by directing county agencies to provide interpretation and translation services, including local languages to the statewide language list, and requiring county agencies such as the Department of Motor Vehicles and Department of Education to provide in-person interpretation.

We also need to commit $10 million to expand language access and build New York’s diverse and multilingual workforce by creating a learning language justice cooperative.

Unemployment Bridge Program 

Unemployment insurance is an essential labor right. However, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers are currently not eligible for unemployment insurance because of their immigration status or the kind of work that they do. This includes undocumented workers, those who are part of the cash economy (including many domestic workers and day laborers), formerly incarcerated workers and many self-employed workers in low-income industries. When these workers lose jobs or income, they have nowhere to turn to support themselves or their families. A permanent fix is needed to ensure that all workers have access to a basic safety net.

We need to pass the Unemployment Bridge Program (S3192/A4821) to provide for thousands of freelancers, self-employed workers, formerly incarcerated workers and those who are not eligible for unemployment insurance because of their immigration status. This program will give workers access to the support they need to provide for themselves and their families, especially when they face sudden job loss.