Immigrant Help NY, A Community Resource Website for all!
New York, NY - May 8, 2024 - Immigrant ARC is pleased to announce the launch of, “Immigrant Help NY,” our new community website! In partnership with Zendesk, a customer experience (CX) software company, and with the generous support of the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, we created “Immigrant Help NY,” a space where all New York State immigrant community members can access information on immigration, housing, employment, and other programs. We hope this will also be a helpful tool for everyone navigating the complex immigration judicial system. The objective is to be a resource to those seeking reliable information and for this information to be in a centralized location. In line with this goal, the website will include a new interactive map that shows immigration legal service providers across all of Upstate New York launched today. The map results from a collaboration between Cornell Law School’s Farmworker Legal Assistance Clinic and I-ARC.
We are already working on an expanded version of the website to augment the pro se and limited scope services being developed across the City, State, and Country and to enhance support and resources for immigrants navigating the immigration legal system without representation. Partner organizations who would like to have their content featured on the website can reach out to outreach@immigrantarc.org. We look forward to growing “Immigrant Help NY” with all partners!
Website link: www.ImmigrantHelpNY.org
Camille J. Mackler, Esq., Executive Director of Immigrant ARC, made the following statement:
We are proud to offer this resource to our newest neighbors in the hopes that it will make navigating our State and establishing their new homes a little easier. As we continue to advocate for increased resources for organizations so that they can better meet the needs of newly arrived and long-time resident immigrants alike, we hope that this guide will help provide a one-stop shop for information and allow immigrants to actively participate in their cases. Even as we and our partners have struggled to meet the increasing needs for our services and support, we continue to be blown away by everyday New Yorkers’ desire to assist those seeking to call New York home. We hope the information and tools show the rest of the world what New York’s welcoming spirit is truly about.
Reina Fostyk, Legal Fellow & Mohawk Valley Region Project Director, Farmworker Legal Assistance Clinic at Cornell Law School, made the following statement:
The map was created to address an information gap regarding what immigration legal service providers are dedicated to serving which counties upstate," says Reina Fostyk, legal fellow and Mohawk Valley region project director in the clinic. "I’ve seen immigrants and invested community members upstate struggle with knowing who to connect with for legal services. And I’ve seen those service providers not know who to refer clients to in other areas. We hope this powerful new tool will help make all of these connections easier. Reina Fostyk, Legal Fellow & Mohawk Valley Region Project Director, Farmworker Legal Assistance Clinic at Cornell Law School
Liza Primeau, Managing Director of Programs at the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, made the following statement:
The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation is proud to support Immigrant ARC’s project to streamline and increase access to the wide variety of supports and services available to New York’s vital immigrant communities. The Foundation is committed to ensuring every New Yorker’s basic needs are met, and we believe the new Immigrant Help NY website will be a vital tool in this effort.
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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.