Governor Kathy Hochul announced the launch of three new legal services grants aimed at assisting the thousands of immigrants who have arrived in New York City this year. A total of $3 million will be administered over three years by the New York State Office for New Americans to provide immigrants arriving in New York City with free immigration-related legal services and assistance with critical application filings and required appearances.
This program, administered by the New York State Office for New Americans (ONA), will provide immigrants arriving in New York City with free immigration-related legal services and assistance with critical application filings and required appearances. ONA will immediately dedicate $3,000,000 in new grant funding over a three-year period for the provision of such free immigrant legal services through the following three community-based organizations:
- Catholic Charities Community Services (CCCS), Archdiocese of New York;
- New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG)
- Immigrant Advocates Response Collaborative (I-ARC)
These three providers, already operating within the existing ONA network of nonprofits, have been on the ground since the beginning of the recent immigrant arrivals to New York City providing expertise in the provision and coordination of legal services.
The new grants will expand on ONA’s existing contracts with these providers and immediately build their capacity to support ongoing services to ensure that the legal needs of new arrivals are urgently addressed and supported throughout the immigration process. These resources will assist more immigrants more rapidly with their asylum applications and other immigration related legal matters including providing representation to recent arrivals.
In 2021, ONA’s legal programs, including its Legal Counsels, Opportunity Centers – Civics, Upstate Immigration Court, Pro Bono Project, and other special initiatives assisted over 28,000 immigrant clients with free legal screenings and consultations, Know Your Rights trainings, immigration application assistance, and other free legal services.
In order to access these legal services, individuals can call the New Americans Hotline at 1-800-566-7636 to be referred to their nearest legal provider or legal clinic. The New Americans Hotline operates from 9:00am to 8:00pm, Monday through Friday. All calls are confidential. Assistance is available in over 200 languages. For more information, visit https://dos.ny.gov/office-new-americans or follow ONA on Twitter at @NYSNewAmericans or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NYSNewAmericans.
Source of news: www.governor.ny.gov