New York Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the allocation of three million dollars for legal assistance to the thousands of immigrants, mostly Venezuelans, who have arrived in the city in recent months.
Funding for the next three years will be administered by the state’s Office of New Americans (ONA), which will immediately distribute the first three million to Catholic Charities Community Services, the New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG), and the Response Collaborative of Immigrant Advocates. who provide assistance to immigrants.
These three organizations, already operating within the existing network of ONA non-profit organizations, have been there since the inception of the arrival of immigrants, providing and coordinating legal services.
These resources will help more immigrants process their asylum applications and other issues such as changes of address and courts for their cases faster; assistance with the Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and defense in the event of a deportation, the governor said in a statement.
“New York has always been a beacon of hope, welcoming newly arrived immigrants with the promise of opportunity,” Hochul said.
Currently, ONA, which operates under the State Department, provides approximately $13 million in funding annually to NGOs to provide free legal aid to immigrants. In 2021, more than 28,000 immigrants were helped through its legal programs and assistance is provided in more than 200 languages, the statement also said.
According to Mayor Eric Adams, more than 27,000 immigrants have arrived in this city since last May, many of them families with children. Most are Venezuelans sent from the state of Texas, many of whom are now staying in public shelters or hotels, waiting for their asylum applications in the United States to be processed.
Adams announced today that eight sites will open across the city’s five boroughs to provide various services to these immigrants, including legal and health care and school enrollment, in addition to the one opened a few months ago in Manhattan, which it has already served around 7,000 people.
