How NYC’s Latest Budget Impacts Immigrant Communities

The spending plan includes a funding boost for immigration legal services which one advocate called an significant domination Another initiative to launch a new department to regulate e-bikes has sparked concerns about over-policing of the largely immigrant-run food delivery sector A City Council rally in late June calling for more funding for immigration legal services in this year s budget Gerardo Romo NYC Council Late last month Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council unveiled details of the city s nearly billion budget for the new fiscal year which kicked off July Unlike past budget negotiations where the mayor and lawmakers wrangled heavily over budget cuts this time several programs that will directly impact the city s immigrant communities got a boost This includes extra funding for free legal services which advocates say is needed now more than ever as the Trump administration pursues mass deportations as well as for childcare programs open to New Yorkers of any immigration status The budget will also fund a new initiative within the Department of Transportation to oversee deliveries including regulating e-bikes though advocates say they re worried it could end in over-policing of the largely immigrant-run food delivery sector Here s a look at what the budget deal included for immigrant New Yorkers A boost for legal services Key initiatives include million for immigration legal services Of the programs in this category legal services for low-income immigrants received the biggest funding increase rising from million in fiscal year to million this year a more than percent bump The funding will ensure continuity of services and help defend immigrants against ongoing aggressive anti-immigrant policies reads the budget summary Immigrant advocates cheered the extra funding which comes as U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE agents carry out more visible arrests of newcomers in city streets and following immigration court hearings Murad Awawdeh the president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition reported the budget deal is an essential domination for immigrant and low-income New Yorkers The budget also increased funding for legal counsel for immigrant children in removal proceedings from million in fiscal year to million in fiscal year a percent hike This came after several years of advocates pushing for more funding after the budget item had remained stagnant for over four years The money will promotion legal screenings representation and population referrals for unaccompanied minors and families Since tens of thousands of asylum seekers and foreigners have arrived in the city fueling an uptick in the number of unaccompanied immigrant youth The need for attorneys has increased this year due to federal funding cuts to legal services and increased enforcement by the Trump administration Although advocates celebrated the increased they say it s still insufficient It doesn t equate to every child will get full representation in New York City disclosed Sierra Kraft executive director of the Immigrant Children Advocates Relief Effort coalition but it does demonstrate a key leadership and commitment to not leaving vulnerable children without assistance Kraft added that this is a one-year sum and that legal providers will have to address hiring and staffing up as judges fast-track court cases making it harder for providers to keep pace with demand We ve seen an increase in immigration judges moving cases forward even if the unaccompanied child doesn t have an attorney Kraft declared So we re trying to attentively monitor how plenty of times how several appearances that young people have before they re going to get their removal order Mayor Eric Adams and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams shaking hands on the this year s budget deal on June Ed Reed Mayoral Photography Office A third initiative that received a substantial boost was the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project NYFUP which launched in to give legal help to immigrants who are in detention centers and may face deportation Unlike criminal cases in immigration court legal counsel is not guaranteed NYFUP funding increased by percent in this year s budget moving from million during the last fiscal year to million Another scheme that received more funding is the Rapid Response Legal Collaborative RRLC which is also supported by the state through its Office for New Americans This venture helps people who are detained or at vulnerability of being detained and deported There was increased venture in Rapid Response work reflecting what we are seeing on the ground increased detentions and deportations of individuals and families revealed Jodi Ziesemer co-director of the immigrant protection unit at New York Legal Assistance Group one of three legal provision providers that are part of RRLC Violating due process norms this increased immigration enforcement includes people who have U S citizen family may be eligible for immigration relief and who deserve an opportunity to be heard The budget also includes million for grassroots organizations that help survivors of domestic violence in immigrant communities through the Culturally Specific Gender Based Violence Initiative about which Speaker Adrienne Adams and Council Member Sandra Ung wrote this week Child care and body cameras The budget includes million to launch a universal childcare pilot to provide free care to hundreds of kids under A Council spokesperson commented that the new initiative is open to all New Yorkers regardless of their immigration status though neither City Hall nor the Mayor s Office of Immigrant Affairs or MOIA responded when sought this question The city is also continuing to provide million in funding for early childhood guidance programs like Promise NYC which provides childcare for undocumented families who can t qualify for other programs Additionally the New York City Department of Sanitation DSNY police officers in the Vending Enforcement Unit will get body-worn camera equipment DSNY did not respond to questions about this change But the Street Vendor Project which advocates for local vendors the majority of whom are immigrants noted they ve been pushing for DSNY police to wear body cameras since the Sanitation Department took over vending enforcement in As a policing agency we believe it is pivotal for DSNY as well as Parks Enforcement Patrol to have just as stringent oversight as the NYPD and are glad the budget includes this line item declared Carina Kaufman-Gutierrez the organization s deputy director In the future we would also like to see Parks Enforcement Patrol have body cameras and the implementation of an external agency similar to the Civilian Complaint Review Board that monitors or addresses complaints against peace officers she added Food delivery workers pictured here at a press conference with City Councilmembers John McCarten NYC Council Media Unit Department of Sustainable Delivery The budget includes million for a new Department of Sustainable Delivery within the Department of Transportation to regulate commercial e-bikes The department is a long-time goal of Mayor Eric Adams He proposed it in his third State of the City address in January as a first-in-the-nation entity that will regulate new forms of delivery transit and ensure their safety Presently little is known about how the department will run There is really no framework yet for the Department of Sustainable Delivery It s included in the budget as a line item that has been proposed by the mayor s office but it would require legislative action by the City Council in order to veritably be established explained Council Deputy Press Secretary Mara Davis Davis disputed Mayor Adams claim that it is the City Council that is not moving forward with statute to establish the department That s solely not true There is no statute that is at present under consideration by the Council we re kind of waiting on them to bring that to the table and it s really his concept Davis stated The mayor s office referred City Limits questions about the initiative to a press release it issued Monday The announcement explained the department will conduct enforcement against illegal moped e-bike and e-scooter riding hold delivery apps accountable by ensuring that commercial cyclists are using safe and legal equipment and that delivery companies face repercussions for unsafe behavior and address carriage parking behaviors that endanger pedestrians cyclists and e-bike riders It will do this through peace officers tasked with issuing moving violations and enforcing businesses compliance with commercial cycling laws though those officers are not set to be deployed until The new department would directly affect the approximately deliveristas in the city Advocates are concerned it will only further criminalize workers and put a great number of at pitfall of deportation at a time when the Trump administration is cracking down on immigrants Ligia Guallpa executive director of Workers Justice Project the non-profit organization that backs Los Deliveristas Unidos which advocates for delivery workers says this department is not the key to protecting them or ensuring street safety Guallpa says they worry about the lack of information about the department as well as the approach the administration s language about it suggests Rather than protecting workers holding multi-billion dollar app corporations accountable the approach has been more towards regulating e-bikes and with that regulating deliveristas Guallpa says elected executives should instead focus on regulating app delivery companies and guaranteeing protections to deliveristas She says unrealistic delivery time requirements create pressure on workers who cannot afford to lose their jobs If they really want deliveristas to prioritize street safety revealed Guallpa it starts by giving the legal rights for them to fight back the pressure and the retaliation that they re dealing with with the apps This comes at a time when advocates are already concerned about an NYPD protocol change in which officers now write criminal summonses instead of traffic tickets for cyclists Gualpa says deliveristas are often a main target of such enforcement NYPD and the New York City mayor have built a partnership to start criminalizing and creating a pipeline for foreseen deportation and targeting immigrant workers announced Gualpa Instead WJP wants to see physically protected bike lanes community-led learning about street safety for deliveristas and charging stations among other infrastructure changes Let s create and redesign our streets to adapt it to the new reality of our neighborhoods and our city reported Gualpa To reach the reporters behind this story contact Daniel citylimits org and Victoria citylimits org To reach the editor contact Jeanmarie citylimits org Want to republish this story Find City Limits reprint procedures here The post How NYC s Latest Budget Impacts Immigrant Communities appeared first on City Limits