“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…
“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…
From the courthouse, into the community, the Bronx Defenders held a big block party on Wednesday. Watch the full video here
“The lawsuit, which in the coming weeks may be ruled a class-action on behalf of potentially tens of thousands of New Yorkers, comes just as a nonprofit research organization releases a 50-state report revealing that in 25 states, police are allowed to access sealed or expunged arrests—and then profile you based on these past allegations that no…
“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…
The Bronx Defenders hosted its annual summer block party on Wednesday, July 17 at Melrose and Courtlandt avenues. See full article here
“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…
“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
“Born and raised in the Bronx, Carmen Piñeiro now works as a community organizer to uplift her community. Her block is the entire Bronx community. Through events from lobby days to block parties at Bronx Defenders she creates lasting change in both legislation and human impact.” Listen to the whole podcast here
“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…
“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…
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…
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…
“In 2017, 10 percent of children were removed for inadequate housing, a number comparable or exceeding removal rates for physical or sexual abuse respectively. In fact, since 2009, removals based on inadequate housing having been steadily increasing. According to Emma Ketteringham, managing director of the family defense practice at Bronx Defenders in New York, Child Protective Services…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 1, 2019 TULSA – Still She Rises, Tulsa announced today their official transition from its parent organization, the Bronx Defenders, to its new status as an independent nonprofit. Justine Olderman, Executive Director of the Bronx Defenders, and Aisha McWeay, Executive Director of Still She Rises, Tulsa, released the following joint statement: …
“While there’s celebration this Pride Month over how far LGBTQ rights have come, it has been a terrible year nationally for those most marginalized. The Trump administration has attacked health care access for trans folks, refused to protect queer youth, and comfortably rubbed shoulders with dictators who dehumanize LGBTQ people. Under this administration, one of the most urgent…
“Justice watchdogs said the youths at the facility don’t have time to waste in getting access to the full expanse of open space, which before the construction project included a garden and even chickens. Robyn Goldberg of the Bronx Defenders remembers her clients participating in the gardening program at Horizon before renovations began — and…
“As civil public defenders, we venture into courts, struggles and conflicts where no constitutional right to a lawyer, and very few other protections exist to ensure fairness in process and justice on behalf of the people we represent. We fight for the basic necessities that are destabilized or deprived once an individual is criminally or…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 18, 2019 CONTACT Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders, rkarerat@bronxdefenders.org, (347) 842-1251 Daniel Ball, Brooklyn Defender Services, dball@bds.org (347) 592 -2579 Sam McCann, Neighborhood Defender Service, smccann@ndsny.org, (212) 316-7399 Anne Conroy, Center for Family Representation, aconroy@cfrny.org, (646) 276-5634 NEW YORK – The Bronx Defenders, Brooklyn Defender Services, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem…
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** ON JUNETEENTH, NYC DEFENDERS CALL FOR LEGISLATURE TO DELIVER JUSTICE TO COMMUNITIES IMPACTED BY MARIJUANA LAWS, SAY RECENTLY PROPOSED LEGISLATION FALLS SHORT (NEW YORK, NY) – The Legal Aid Society, New York County Defender Services, Brooklyn Defender Services, The Bronx Defenders, and Neighborhood Defender Service say that recently-introduced legislation would fail to deliver justice to…
“Activists opposed passage of the alternative marijuana bills on Wednesday, calling them half-measures that would not address years of harm to communities of color. A coalition of public defenders including The Legal Aid Society and the Bronx Defenders said in a statement that the decriminalization plan fell “disastrously short.” Read the full article here
“Defendants accused of murder in New York will no longer be able to plead those charges down to manslaughter by saying their actions were the result of an extreme emotional disturbance on discovering that someone is gay or transgender.” Read the full article here
“The Bronx Defenders’ LGBTQ Defense Project is a team of advocates who provide specialized representation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members of the community in legal matters. A man, who identified himself as John, says the project saved his life. He says he escaped from Nigeria and came to the U.S. because he faced…
“The “Protect Our Courts Act,” sponsored by Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages and Senator Brad Hoylman, is one way New York state can counterbalance these devastating consequences, and we have one day left in NY’s legislative session to help protect our non-citizen community members. Thomas R. Decker, field office director for Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) New…
June 17, 2019 Contact: Redmond Haskins, The Legal Aid Society (RHaskins@legal-aid.org) Lupe Todd-Medina, New York County Defender Services (Lupe@effectivemediastrategies.com) Jared Chausow, Brooklyn Defender Services (jchausow@bds.org) Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders (rkarerat@bronxdefenders.org) Sam McCann, The Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (smccann@ndsny.org) ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** NYC DEFENDERS DEMAND TRUE MARIJUANA JUSTICE, CALL RECENTLY INTRODUCED BILL ‘TOO LITTLE TOO LATE’ (NEW YORK, NY) – The Legal Aid Society, New York County Defender…