New York City has reached out to more than 72,000 newly arrived migrants in the past year, helping them meet their basic needs for shelter, food and schools, but has failed to provide enough resources for them to file their asylum claims as quickly as possible. soon as posible.
This was denounced this Thursday by the Municipal Comptroller, Brad Lander, who in the middle of a demonstration together with other political leaders of the Big Apple, demanded that the Administration of the mayor, Eric Adams, include in the fiscal budget that will begin to be invested from the Next July 1st, $70 million so there are enough free lawyers to help fill asylum cases.
“Over the past year, the City has spent tremendous amounts of resources, energy, and dollars helping put asylum seekers in shelters, but has done almost nothing for them to stand up for themselves. That is why we are asking for at least $70 million for legal representation, so that they can fill out their asylum applications, have their work permits, and can stand on their feet,” the official said.
Lander acknowledged that the Federal Government should be the one that puts its hand in its pocket to help deal with the crisis generated with the new arrivals, but stressed that as long as that does not happen, it is the obligation of the City to find solutions so that the migrants fill their cases quickly so they can get out of the shelter system sooner and join the working life of the Big Apple.
“It is vital that the City do this now, because it is very expensive to provide shelter and the best way to get people out of there is to help them with their cases. We have failed to help them fill out their asylum applications. Almost none of those in the shelters have, and if we don’t do it now, soon tens of thousands of people will be out of status,” Lander said. “We know we need substantial resources from the state and federal governments and that this is a federal obligation, so it is unacceptable that they have not reinvested what the City has invested in shelter, but we cannot wait for the federal government to act to provide the legal representation that asylum seekers need”.
Councilmember Shahana Hanif, chair of the City Council’s Immigration Committee, joined the demand for an additional $70 million for legal services and asked Mayor Adams not to back down on the support that the Big Apple should provide them as a Sanctuary City in lawyers, not only to the 72,000 new immigrants but to more than 120,000 immigrants who have delayed processes in the courts.
“It is unacceptable that this Administration has only allocated $5 million in new funding for legal services for asylum seekers, and if we don’t invest legal support resources now, the City is saying it’s okay with them being the next generation of undocumented, and that is not right. We must ensure they are treated with dignity,” the policy said, noting that $10 million of the required $70 would be used for legal clinics for asylum seekers, and $60 million to provide legal representation in immigration courts to those who already have all types of filed and stalled cases.
Theodore Moore, vice president of Policy and Programs for the New York Immigration Coalition, mentioned that he has been speaking with newly arrived migrants who don’t even know how to navigate the asylum application process, so he urged the City to disburse the resources to guide you through the process.
“When they get here, the very terminology is very new to them, and it’s all extremely confusing, especially if they don’t speak English. That is why we need lawyers to support them in their processes and thus prevent others from taking advantage of them,” said the immigrant advocate. “We have to help them with access to qualified legal services and we shouldn’t be fighting over these funds every year, because this is a city that welcomes immigrants all the time.”
Luba Cortés, coordinator of Immigrant Advocacy, of the Make the Road NY organization, mentioned that the requested funds are crucial to help newcomers move forward.
“Organizations like Make the Road have tried to provide legal support, but we need more resources to be able to give more representation. It is time for the City to build an infrastructure by investing at least $70 million to expand legal services, particularly for complex cases involving asylum seekers, and provide a robust provider system,” said the community leader.
On the sides of the Municipal Council, the call of the Comptroller and the protesters has an echo, since the legislators consider that it is urgent to put more resources to finance free legal services that help migrants process their cases and be able to bring them to a successful conclusion, so they claim to be working to negotiate a budget that provides essential services to all New Yorkers.
“City Council Speaker (Adrienne Adams) and the Council have long recognized the tremendous need for increased funding for legal services that would support immigrant New Yorkers, including new arrivals,” said a spokesperson for the city legislature. “Our December report on the response to the arrival of people seeking asylum in our city recognized this need and urged the Administration to identify funding sources and pursue public-private partnerships that could expand access to legal services for immigrants.
The Administration of Mayor Adams, for its part, has a different view, and assured that the City provides “more funds for free legal services than any other municipality in the country”, and although it admits that the current funds fall short in the face of the enormous need that represent the new migrants, does not support the request for the additional $70 million.
“We have budgeted more than $60 million for free immigration-related legal services this year, and while we do not have the resources to provide direct legal services to more than 72,000 asylum seekers, in addition to all the other services we provide, we have been coordinating with legal service providers throughout the city to support their assistance to as many applicants as possible,” said a spokeswoman for the burgomaster.
The Adams Administration official stressed that it is urgent that the federal government reach into its pocket and disburse resources to the Big Apple in order to address the current crisis and the wasteful procedures involved in asylum processes.
“Applying for asylum is a complicated bureaucratic process, which is part of why we have been pushing for the federal government to extend TPS. This would allow newcomers to apply for Temporary Protected Status, a much simpler and faster process. We also support the federal government, which is responsible for our immigration system and this humanitarian crisis, to provide legal representation to those seeking asylum and moving through the system that they oversee,” said the Mayor’s spokeswoman. “We encourage the Comptroller and City Council to join us in calling for these systemic changes, which would benefit asylum seekers across the country, rather than a band-aid approach that further stretches New Yorkers’ already scarce resources. ”.
Fight for help for free lawyers for migrants
- $70 million in additional funds is the requirement to the Municipal Administration
- $10 million would go to help new asylum seekers file their processes
- $60 million would be to help immigrants with different cases in Immigration courts
- $60 million ensures City spends only on immigration-related legal services
- 99% of the City’s aid resources for migrants are for shelter, according to the Comptroller
- 1% of the funds allocated are for other services
- 72,000 migrants have helped NYC in the last year
- 4,500 new migrants arrive in NYC each week, on average
- 311 is the hotline to call to ask for free or low-cost lawyers