Immigrant ARC Responds to NYC Mayor Adams’ Preliminary Budget
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: press@immigrantarc.org
518-813-1595
New York, NY - January 16, 2024 - Yesterday, Mayor Adams unveiled his $109 billion preliminary budget. While he acknowledged the need for resources and assistance for arriving migrants, Immigrant ARC is troubled by Mayor Adams’ repeated attempts to frame New York City’s existing and new immigrant communities as a burden to taxpayers as well as using them as a scapegoat for his budget austerity. While the City is struggling to fill the needs of its immigrant communities––it will not solve this challenge by forcing migrants out of shelters nor can it solely rely on small, temporary rapid-response clinics; it is crucial that the City fund long term immigration legal services and coordinate closely with its legal service providers and community based organizations.
Immigrant New Yorkers are not a burden, they are our City's greatest strength and resource. Investing in our immigrant communities is not only the morally right move to make, it is also an investment in NYC’s economic future. It is a fact that immigrant New Yorkers are more likely to create jobs, start small businesses, and revitalize our workforce. Providing access to legal help is the best way to ensure that immigrants can obtain long-term status, work authorization, and access to resources that will include them in our cultural, civic, and economic life. It is Immigrant ARC’s recommendation that what is needed is greater transparency from city agencies, strategic coordination from city and state governments with legal service providers, and funding for long-term immigration legal services, which includes the passing of the Access to Representation Act (A170A/S999A) at the state level.
In response to Mayor Adams’ preliminary budget, Camille Mackler, Executive Director of Immigrant ARC, made the following statement:
“While Mayor Adams’ might claim that arriving migrants are a threat to our City––NYC has always opened its arms to immigrants and has been the better for it. If he really wants to ‘keep our city a beacon of hope’ then it is imperative he stops seeing immigrants as a burden, acknowledges that they are integral to the success of our City, and properly fund long-term immigration legal services.”
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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.
http://www.immigrantarc.org