{"id":189389,"date":"2026-04-08T10:15:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T10:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/189389\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T10:15:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T10:15:11","slug":"protect-survivors-and-pass-new-york-for-all-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/189389\/","title":{"rendered":"Protect survivors and pass New York for All now"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI am afraid.\u201d It is a phrase I have heard in more languages than I can count. Tengo miedo. J\u2019ai peur.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, because of the work I do at Safe Horizon<\/a>, the largest victims services nonprofit organization in the country, I often talk to people who have been exploited and abused and who have experienced tragic sexual assault, domestic and gender-based violence at their most vulnerable and fearful moments.<\/p>\n

For the immigrant New Yorker, there is always a second layer of fear: the fear that their attempt to find safety could lead to them being permanently exiled from the only place they call home.<\/p>\n

A study released by the Alliance for Immigrant Survivors<\/a> in December 2025, demonstrates the severe chilling effect that harsh immigration enforcement policies have had on survivors\u2019 willingness to come forward and seek help. The report notes that 70.3% of advocates report that immigrant survivors have concerns about going to court for a matter related to their abuser. Seventy-six percent of advocates said that their clients report their abusers use the threat of deportation to keep them silent.<\/p>\n

In the last year, advocates reported, survivors\u2019 concerns about potential immigration consequences have become more urgent: 80% of advocates said the number of immigration-related questions they get from clients has increased since November 2024. People are afraid to come forward because of the potential immigration consequences.<\/p>\n

Despite what is highlighted in the media, immigrants are more often victims rather than perpetrators of crime. Their immigration status, lack of knowledge of how systems work, general fear of law enforcement, and language barriers, make them easy targets.<\/p>\n

Threatening them with deportation is a common tool used by abusers to silence their victims. And when victims are too afraid to come forward to report crimes committed against them, to access justice and hold those responsible accountable, we are all less safe because of it.<\/p>\n

New York for All<\/a>, a bill before the state Legislature to broadly prohibit local and state agencies from colluding with ICE in funneling people to detention and deportation, would be crucial for survivors, including immigrant survivors. New York for All would make strides to ensure safe reporting of violence they have experienced, gain access to critical healing services, and ensure accountability for the harms they\u2019ve faced.<\/p>\n

The bill prohibits agencies, including the police, from sharing sensitive information with federal immigration enforcement agents. This not only protects survivors, by allowing them to freely come forward without fear of being detained or deported by ICE, but also ensures that local law enforcement can do its job of protecting the vulnerable, rather than acting as a proxy or extension of immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n

Our criminal justice system is most effective when there isn\u2019t delay or interference by other agencies with a different agenda.<\/p>\n

New York For All does not undermine accountability \u2014 it supports it. Without it, survivors will continue to be failed by the system that claims to serve them. And New Yorkers will be made less safe as a result. New York for All is about community safety for all.<\/p>\n

Seguridad para todos. La s\u00e9curit\u00e9 pour tous.<\/p>\n

The Legislature must pass New York for All and other protections that make clear that New York will end collusion with ICE. What we need now is leadership at all levels of government that refuses to divide us, and gives survivors and their families the access to justice they deserve. What we need is for Albany to pass New York for All.<\/p>\n

Chan is the associate vice president for Anti-Trafficking, Immigration and Legal Services at Safe Horizon.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI am afraid.\u201d It is a phrase I have heard in more languages than I can count. Tengo…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":189390,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[9,24,55,54,56,299],"class_list":{"0":"post-189389","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-new-york-city-headlines","11":"tag-new-york-city-news","12":"tag-ny","13":"tag-opinion"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=189389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189389\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/189390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=189389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=189389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}