I-ARC responds to thousands of migrants arriving in New York City from border states
Brooklyn, NY; July 21, 2022 - Immigrant ARC members have been working for the last few weeks to respond to the needs of recent border arrivals in New York, a city which, as per Mayor Eric Adams’ recent statement, is experiencing overwhelm in its shelter system as a result.
In response to this developing situation, Immigrant ARC’s Executive Director Camille Mackler made the following statement:
“Over the next few days we will be meeting with members, partners, and government agencies to better understand the reasons for this movement Northward, and to help determine solutions that allow all those who come here dignity, safety, and shelter. We call on our government partners to ensure providers have the resources necessary to respond to this new need. We are also tracking the systemic breakdowns this has caused within federal agencies and hope to work with them to remedy concerning trends that affect these individuals' ability to ask for asylum. Finally, we will continue current efforts to build out a better border-to-New York pipeline so that future needs can be met more systematically and holistically.
New York has a proud history of welcoming immigrants from all over the world. I-ARC, and our members, stand ready to do again what we have done repeatedly over the last many years: come together to welcome and assist those who have arrived in New York seeking help. We did this at JFK Airport during the Muslim Ban, at the Albany County Jail when hundreds of asylum seekers were transferred from the border, and every day in between as our members strive to meet the needs of those who - by choice or by circumstance - now call New York home.”
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Immigrant ARC is a collaborative of over 80 organizations and professional associations providing legal services to New York’s immigrant communities throughout the State. Born out of the legal effort at JFK Airport during the Muslim Travel Ban in 2017, our mission is clear: to mobilize New York State’s legal service providers by facilitating communication and information sharing to better support our immigrant communities; to organize and respond to issues as they arise by coordinating resources and fostering best practices among providers; and to resist and challenge anti-immigrant policies by shining a light on injustices and confronting inequalities faced by our communities in the legal system.
CONTACT: press@immigrantarc.org
