Councilors from the Government Operations and Immigration committees held a lengthy hearing on a series of proposed legal measures for the five boroughs and resolutions to be adopted to address the challenges of the continued influx of asylum seekers.
Members heard testimony from dozens of crisis organizations and city agency officials about their work to address them.
They were considered:
⁃ Issue a universal bill of rights for immigrant workers to be displayed in all workplaces.
⁃ Amend the City Administrative Code on Documentation Constituting Proof of Identity for Obtaining a New York City Identification Card, IDNYC.
⁃ Establish a refugee and migrant settlement office.
Council resolutions were also considered for:
⁃ Ask US Citizenship and Immigration Services to expedite the approval process for employment authorization applications.
⁃ Demand Congress pass the “Safe Welcome for Children Act of 2022,” to ensure the safety and well-being of migrant children in government custody, as well as TPS for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans.
⁃ Demand more federal resources for refugee settlement in New York.
⁃ Condemn the sending of migrants by bus from other states as human smuggling.
⁃ Require Governor Hochul to declare the crisis a state emergency and discontinue the state’s use of E-Verify to verify that a person has federal employment authorization, in addition to
⁃ Approve the Access to Representation Law, which establishes the right to legal advice in immigration court proceedings and provides for their administration.
This meeting comes amid City budget negotiations and as Mayor Adams continues to lobby the Biden Administration for more help dealing with the asylum seeker crisis. The Council will continue discussions next week.
2023-04-28 23:12:00
#Municipal #Council #considers #measures #face #crisis #asylum #seekers
