Press Release: The Bronx Defenders Condemns Right Wing Fear-Mongering Against Immigrants on New Way Forward Legislation
CONTACT Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders, (347) 842-1251, rkarerat@bronxdefenders.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 7, 2019 NEW YORK- The Bronx Defenders today condemned smears from FOX News host Tucker Carlson and President Donald Trump in their efforts to demean immigrants and advocate against the the passage of the critical federal immigration reform bill, H.R. 5383 –…
Law360: Immigration Courts’ Video Evolution Stirs Due Process Fears
“While recent statistics might seem to suggest that VTC has helped tackle the backlog of immigration cases, there are other factors that have likely contributed to the jump in completed cases, according to Sarah Deri Oshiro, managing director of the immigration practice at the Bronx Defenders, which was a plaintiff in the lawsuit over the…
Violeta Rivera Presented Testimony at City Council on Mental Health Needs of Immigrants in NYC
New York City Council Joint Hearing: Committee on Immigration and Committee on Mental Health, Disabilities, and Addiction Re: Oversight- Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Immigrants in NYC October 8th, 2019 Written Testimony of The Bronx Defenders By Violeta Rivera, LMSW, Immigration Social Worker Chairs Menchaca and Ayala, my name is Violeta Rivera and I…
Vox: Ousman Darboe could be deported any day. His story is a common one for black immigrants.
Ousman Darboe is a 25-year-old undocumented Muslim immigrant, raised in the Bronx since he was six years old. Unfortunately, his journey lays bare what a school to prison to deportation pipeline looks like. Sophia Gurule, his immigration attorney, walked alongside Darboe through his proceedings and said his experiences had “No empathy, compassion, no sense of…
Lohud: New immigration court opens in Manhattan; some attorneys cite lack of transparency
“The opening of these new immigration courtrooms, which was effected with hardly any public notice or transparency, is emblematic of this Administration’s practice to speed the deportation of as many immigrants as possible, as quickly as possible,” said a joint statement from The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, and The Bronx Defenders, which represent…
DocumentedNY: Early Arrival: City Council Expands Immigrant Unity Project
“The New York City Council has pledged $16.6 million to the New York Family Immigrant Unity Project for fiscal year 2020. It’s the highest budget since the program’s inception in 2014, when it became the first free representation program for detained immigrants in the country. It encompasses the Legal Aid Society, the Bronx Defenders and Brooklyn Defenders Services, and…
Jackson Heights Post: Council Funds Program that Provides Free Legal Counsel to Detained Immigrants Facing Deportation
“The City Council is dedicating $16.6 million of this year’s budget to fund and expand a program that provides free legal council to detained immigrants facing deportation. The New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP) is the country’s first public defender system for detained immigrants facing deportation. The funding for the program’s providers — The…
QNS: City Council fully funds program that provides free legal counsel to immigrants facing deportation
“The City Council is dedicating $16.6 million of this year’s budget to fund and expand the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP), the nation’s first public defender system for detained immigrants facing deportation. The program is designed to provide free legal representation from providers such as The Legal Aid Society, the Bronx Defenders and…
Joint Statement From NYIFUP Legal Providers On The Opening Of A New Immigration Court
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** September 9, 2019 JOINT STATEMENT FROM NYIFUP LEGAL PROVIDERS ON THE OPENING OF A NEW IMMIGRATION COURT (NEW YORK, NY) – The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, and The Bronx Defenders – New York City’s defender organizations providing free legal representation through the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP) to detained immigrants with…
NYN Media: New York City Council boosts funding to support immigrants facing deportation
“The New York City Council announced $16.6 million in funding for the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project for this coming fiscal year. The project received a boost of $5 million compared with last year, which will go toward increasing the project’s reach to provide free legal services to immigrants facing deportation. The Bronx Defenders, Legal Aid Society,…
Patch: Corey Johnson And Carlos Menchaca Announce A $16.6 Million Allocation To Fund The New York Immigrant Family Unity Project
“City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Committee on Immigration Chair Carlos Menchaca announced today that the City Council is dedicating $16.6 million of this year’s budget to fund and expand the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP), the nation’s first public defender system for detained immigrants facing deportation. NYIFUP, funded by the City Council,…
NY1 Noticias: Ciudad dará más fondos para abogados que defiendan a inmigrantes en proceso de deportación
“Con esta protesta afuera del edificio de las instalaciones de ICE, en el Bajo Manhattan, el Concejo Municipal confirmó que le dará mas fondos al Proyecto de Unidad de Familias Inmigrantes de Nueva York.” Lee el artículo completo aquí
Telemundo: Concejo Municipal aumenta fondos para proteger a migrantes
Concejo Municipal aumenta fondos para proteger a migrantes. Mira el video completo aquí
El Diario: Concejo Municipal asigna $16 millones para dar ayuda legal gratis a inmigrantes
“Los operativos de los agentes del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE) siguen aumentando en todo el país, y la meta es cumplir con el objetivo de la Administración Trump, de arrestar y deportar el mayor número posible de indocumentados. Y a pesar de ser una ‘ciudad santuario’, la Gran Manzana no ha escapado a las acciones de ‘La Migra’, y…
New York Times: ‘It’s Like an Automatic Deportation if You Don’t Have a Lawyer’
“Spurred on by these findings, Judge Katzmann’s study group decided to create the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project in 2013, with the goal of creating a pilot program for universal representation that could eventually be expanded to represent every detained immigrant with a hearing at the Varick Street Immigration Court. The City Council funded the pilot…
New York Amsterdam News: Inmates Deal with no AC in Bergen County Jail
“The Bronx Defenders, The Legal Aid Society, and Brooklyn Defender Services are also speaking about the conditions at the Bergen County Jail. The organizations provide free legal representation through the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project to detained immigrants with pending cases at the Varick Street Immigration Court. In a joint statement the organizations said…
Gothamist: Immigration Court Interpreters Say Video Teleconferencing Makes It Difficult To Do Their Jobs
“Sophia Gurulé said that because they are experiencing their hearings through video, her clients often end up confused. She said she finds herself explaining important aspects of a hearing, such as whether her client was given the right to get out on bond, after the fact. “They’ll say, ‘I don’t even know what happened,’” Gurulé…
North Jersey: Air conditioning repairs at Bergen County Jail continue as region braces for more hot days
“The continued air conditioning issues at the facility, which houses federal immigration detainees for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, have sparked outcry from some attorneys and immigration activists. The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, and the Bronx Defenders, organizations that provide free legal representation through the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project, said they have heard multiple…
Delete Your Account: Holistic Defense
“This week, Roqayah and Kumars are joined by immigration attorney Sophia Gurulé who works for the non-profit legal advocacy group, The Bronx Defenders. Sophia has also participated in the CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project in Dilley, Texas for which she helped provide legal services to asylum-seeking women and children. Sophia describes how the Bronx Defenders, which represents over 30,000…
In These Times: We Can’t Stop the Horrors of Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Unless We Reckon With Obama’s Role
“The criminalization of aid workers stems from the profound dehumanization of immigrants themselves. Sophia E. Gurulé, a staff attorney for the immigration practice of the Bronx Defenders, represents indigent people detained during their deportation proceedings. She tells In These Times that in September of 2018 she witnessed an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) attorney refer to a person…
North Jersey: First it was mumps. Now the air-conditioner breaks down at the Bergen County Jail
“Temperatures in Hackensack, where the jail is located, reached a high of 87 degrees on Tuesday The unbearable heat is the latest health issue at the jail. Last month, five cases of suspected mumps were reported inside the jail and the New Jersey Department of Health was notified.” Read full article here
North Jersey: Another mumps case confirmed at the Bergen County Jail, quarantine extended
“We are deeply concerned that the mumps outbreak at Bergen County Jail has spread and that the quarantine has been extended until the end of the month,” the Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services and The Bronx Defenders said in a joint statement. “Given the jail’s failure to adequately address this public health crisis, we continue…
New York Daily News: Mumps quarantine extended in troubled ICE jail in Bergen County
“Amid deteriorating conditions at Bergen County Jail, we are appalled to learn about the indefinite extension of the mumps quarantine. We continue to be extremely concerned for the health and safety of our clients,” the New York Family Immigrant Unity Project said in a statement. The group provides public defenders to immigrants facing deportation.” Read…
NYIFUP Statement On Continued Air Conditioning Issues At Bergen County Jail Amid NYC Area Heat Wave
July 10, 2019 ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** NYIFUP STATEMENT ON CONTINUED AIR CONDITIONING ISSUES AT BERGEN COUNTY JAIL AMID NYC AREA HEAT WAVE (NEW YORK, NY) – The Bronx Defenders, The Legal Aid Society, and Brooklyn Defender Services – New York City’s defender organizations providing free legal representation through the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP) to detained immigrants with…
NYIFUP Statement On Reports that Quarantine for Mumps at ICE Bergen County Jail Has Been Extended
July 8, 2019 ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** NYIFUP STATEMENT ON REPORTS THAT QUARANTINE FOR MUMPS AT ICE BERGEN COUNTY JAIL HAS BEEN EXTENDED (NEW YORK, NY) – The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, and The Bronx Defenders – New York City’s defender organizations providing free legal representation through the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP) to…