CARE For Immigrants Families – via: care4immigrants.org
ALBANY, N.Y. — Immigrant advocacy organizations are praising New York lawmakers this week for proposing a major investment in immigration legal defense programs, calling the move a critical step toward protecting immigrant families across the state.
According to a press release issued Tuesday by the Vera Institute of Justice on behalf of the Campaign for Access, Representation, and Equity (CARE) for Immigrant Families coalition, lawmakers included $175 million for immigrant legal defense programs in their one-house budget proposals, which is part of a broader $183 million allocation for immigration legal and social services in the fiscal year 2027 New York state budget.
The coalition described the funding as a response to the increasingly growing challenges that immigrant families in the United States are currently facing.
CARE for Immigrant Families stated in its formal announcement that “At a moment when immigrant families across New York are facing violent and lawless federal attacks, we commend the legislature for acting with conviction.”
In addition to asserting how meaningful the state’s efforts to bring attention to immigrant family struggles are, CARE’s statement also emphasized that immigration courts across New York are facing large backlogs while enforcement activity continues to increase.
“As militant immigration arrests continue and hundreds of thousands of cases are pending in New York’s immigration courts,” the coalition said, “this investment shows that in the face of ruthless federal attacks, New York will not stand idly by and will instead defend immigrant New Yorkers.”
According to the Vera Institute release, advocates argue that legal representation is a key factor in ensuring fairness within the immigration system.
The coalition believes the funding would support programs designed to provide legal defense and support services to immigrant families, noting that representation can play a crucial role in protecting due process rights and helping families navigate complex immigration proceedings.
“This investment recognizes the critical role legal representation plays in protecting children and families, ensuring due process, and strengthening communities across the state,” the coalition added in the release.
The Vera Institute for Justice release also states that the coalition is urging lawmakers and the governor to move forward with additional legislation intended to strengthen immigrant legal services statewide.
Advocates specifically called for passage of the Access to Representation Act (ARA) and the Building Up Immigrant Legal Defense (BUILD) Act, measures that would expand access to legal counsel for individuals facing deportation.
According to the release, the Access to Representation Act would create what supporters say would be the nation’s first statewide right to legal representation for people facing deportation who cannot afford a private attorney.
This legislation would support income-eligible individuals who are either in detention or facing the possibility of deportation, ultimately ensuring they receive due process.
The BUILD Act would complement the efforts of the ARA by establishing a four-year funding structure designed to strengthen New York’s immigration legal services infrastructure, the press release states.
The act would establish a grant program for organizations to improve their infrastructure, provide training and expand their legal services for those in need.
The CARE for Immigrant Families campaign includes more than 100 organizations, labor unions, religious groups and elected officials advocating for expanded immigration legal services across the state of New York.
Per the press release, organizations involved in the coalition include the Vera Institute of Justice, the New York Immigration Coalition, Immigrant ARC, the New York Civil Liberties Union, Neighbors Link and the Immigrant Children Advocates’ Relief Effort.
The CARE for Immigrant Families press statement concluded by expressing optimism that the proposed funding will ultimately be enacted in the final state budget for the upcoming year.
The coalition stated that “We look forward to working with the legislature and governor to ensure New York enacts the nation-leading investment of $175 million in immigration legal services… so that every New Yorker at risk for deportation has access to the legal support they need.”
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Categories: Breaking News Immigration National Issues Tags: Access to Representation Act Due Process Immigrant Legal Defense IMmigration Policy New York Legislature Vera Institute of Justice