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…
“Wes Caines is the Chief of Staff for The Bronx Defenders, a public defender non-profit serving the people of the Bronx, New York. Wes, who recently addressed the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington D.C. on the work of The Bronx Defenders back in September, talks with us a bit about his work at The Bronx…
“Under Raise the Age, older adolescents in New York City have better access to age-appropriate services and programs designed to promote rehabilitation, positive behavior change and successful re-entry into the community all while preserving the safety and security of youth and staff and protecting public safety,” he said. But some advocates worried that the influx…
“Other members are joining the task force armed with legal experience representing trans clients in city jails. Deborah Lolai, a criminal defense attorney and LGBTQ crime specialist with the Bronx Defenders, a public defender nonprofit, will use her role on the task force to advocate for the rights of incarcerated trans folks to be housed…
“Advocated for the new bail reform law say it is going to make it fairer for defendants not yet convicted by letting them out on bail and informing them of the evidence and witnesses against them. But district attorneys and police say the new law could put victims and witnesses at risk. The I-Team’s Jonathan…
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…
The Bronx Defenders and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP represent a class of people in R.C. v. The City of New York. This case challenges the NYPD’s use and disclosure of sealed arrest records. This case alleges that the NYPD uses sealed arrest records for internal investigative purposes and shares sealed records externally with…
“As cannabis use is legalized in more and more jurisdictions across the country, child welfare systems aren’t always keeping pace. Allegations of drug use are still raised in family court, particularly against parents of color, and those who admit using cannabis are often subject to heightened surveillance. We are joined today by Miriam Mack and…
“In New York City, much needed-critical attention has been paid to the racial disproportionality and overreach of the city’s child welfare system, the Administration for Children’s Services (“ACS”), and its conflation of poverty with neglect. The vast majority of child protection cases brought in New York City allege child neglect rather than abuse. This article…
“Now courts are bracing for a large number of teens, as even more 17-year-olds than 16-year-olds funnel into State Supreme Courts’ new Youth Part for initial hearings on felony charges as well as Family Court, beginning Oct. 1. “My fear is that once they double the number of people… we are going to see even longer arrest-to-arraignment…
On September 15, 2019, the JCPA Criminal Justice Reform NY Conference convened 225+ people from the diverse Jewish community. The conference sought to engage in a meaningful way to end today’s modern civil rights crisis of mass incarceration. The conference was sponsored by Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), UJA-Federation of New York and JCRC…
“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…
“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…
“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…
“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…
“The problem is particularly troubling in Syracuse, a city with the nation’s highest rate of concentrated poverty among blacks and Hispanics, Hunter said. The rate of driver’s with suspended licenses for unpaid traffic tickets in one poor neighborhood in Syracuse is more than twice the statewide average, according to the Driven by Justice Coalition, a coalition of criminal…
***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…
“According to the Driven by Justice Coalition, over 1.6 million suspensions due to traffic debt were issued to New Yorker’s over a 28-month span. Kennedy said the suspensions are not equitable and poor people are punished for being poor. “Driver’s license suspension rates are nearly nine times higher in the ten poorest communities across New…
“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,…
“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,…
“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
Concejo Municipal aumenta fondos para proteger a migrantes. Mira el video completo aquí
“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…
“Ms. D, a mother of two living in the Bronx, smoked cannabis occasionally. She never smoked in front of her children, and her casual use never affected her ability to parent. So when a child protective investigator asked her if she smoked, Ms. D was forthcoming. After all, her children were healthy, happy, and well…
The New York State Senate Standing Committee on Codes Hearing on the Implementation of Pre-Trial Reform September 9, 2019 Testimony of Scott D. Levy, Chief Policy Counsel THE BRONX DEFENDERS This spring, New York passed historic comprehensive discovery reform. BxD applauds the New York State Assembly, Senate, and the Governor — Senator Bailey and Assembly…