Today, Coalition for the Homeless, together with Legal Aid Society, Win, and 20 other groups, sent a letter to Mayor Eric Adams calling on his administration to immediately take steps to protect both new New Yorkers and immigrants who have long called New York City home from the draconian actions threatened by the incoming Trump administration. The previous Trump administration perpetrated heinous legal attacks on immigrants, including the separation of children from their families and arrests of immigrants at courthouses. President-elect Trump made the promise of mass deportations the cornerstone of his campaign for his second term in office – an unprecedented effort that would put countless New Yorkers at risk, particularly the newest arrivals. “New York City has always been a city of immigrants, and is proudly a sanctuary city committed to respecting and protecting those who come here to build new lives for themselves,” said Dave Giffen, Executive Director of the Coalition for the Homeless. “The more than 56,000 new arrivals in our shelters and those trying to survive unsheltered on the streets are particularly vulnerable, and desperately need our City’s protection. To deny them that would be not only inhumane, but fully at odds with the values of our community.” The full letter is below: The Honorable Eric L. Adams Mayor of the City of New York New York City Hall New York, NY 10007 Dear Mayor Adams, New York City has always been a city of immigrants bringing cultural vibrancy, hard work, and vitality to our neighborhoods. Throughout history, our city has welcomed those who come to the United States to make a better life or to find a safe haven from persecution, violence, and trauma. This reputation as a place of refuge is critical to our identity, and is something we are, and should be, proud of. Immigrants are also critical to New York City’s economy — accounting for 43 percent of our workforce and contributing $61 billion in tax revenue. For these reasons, it is imperative that the City take immediate measures to protect both immigrants who have long resided in our community as well as the newest New Yorkers from the draconian and harmful actions being threatened by the incoming presidential administration in the new year. President-elect Trump built a campaign based on misinformation and flat-out untruths about immigrants, and fueled that campaign by stoking xenophobic and racist fears among the electorate. He has pledged to carry out mass deportations of millions of hard-working individuals, even threatening to use the military against civilians to effectuate his plan. While there are obviously legal, financial, and logistical hurdles to such extensive removals, in the days since the election he has made clear his resolve to move quickly to begin implementation. These very clear and real threats have raised fears among New York’s immigrant population irrespective of how long they have been living in our city as valued members of our community. These fears are well-founded, given the actions taken during his previous term in office, including the separation of children from their families and the arrests of immigrants at courthouses. While we have already communicated our concerns and recommendations to some City agencies about steps that can be taken to protect those most at risk, there are actions that only you, as Mayor, can take to ensure that New York City retains its proud heritage as a city of immigrants, a city dedicated to the principles that we have long expressed to the entire world through the welcoming words on the Statue of Liberty. We urge you to take immediate action in the ways enumerated below to protect and provide reassurance to the countless immigrants who call our city home, including the newest arrivals. Confirm that the City will protect immigrants in facilities serving those without homes. • For agencies that do not already have such, issue updated policies to all City-funded sites that administer, contract, or operate shelters and related facilities for people experiencing homelessness outlining what to do in the event U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents or other law enforcement entities working on their behalf seek access to or are otherwise present within 100 feet of the premises; and ensure that staff are trained and that there is a hotline available 24/7 to reach City legal staff for emergency situations. End policies that needlessly expose immigrants without homes to danger and create obstacles to progressing on their immigration cases. • Cease imposing any shelter placement time limits and reapplication requirements for asylum-seekers and other new arrivals, which make it difficult for people to receive notices from the immigration court about their pending cases. • Also, immediately stop the NYPD/DSNY sweeps of areas where individuals experiencing homelessness gather, to reduce the risk that unnecessary contact with law enforcement poses to undocumented and other vulnerable individuals living unsheltered on the streets. Cease using facilities on federally-owned land for new arrivals. • Relocate all families from such facilities to other shelters. Provide adequate resources in facilities serving new arrivals to help them more quickly transition into housing and stability. • Ensure that there is sufficient staffing to increase shelter move-outs for new arrivals, including by processing CityFHEPS applications for all qualified shelter residents as expeditiously as possible to facilitate avenues out of the shelter system. Increase legal assistance to new arrivals. • Ensure that every eligible new arrival who has not already applied for asylum or any non-parole immigration relief is provided an appointment and screened for available immigration relief and work authorization through rapid-response services. Ensure that all new arrivals provided with legal assistance by the City can receive follow-up assistance with notices and determinations attached to their initial application filing, as well as support in replacing lost documentation. • Invest in immigration legal services in anticipation of rapidly changing policies and community needs. Adequately resource recruitment, retention, training of legal teams, and infrastructure, both to support the wealth of expertise that already exists among our providers and to grow the pipeline of immigration lawyers to meet the need for representation. Enhance Identity Protection. • Ensure that any record of an individual’s immigration status being collected or stored by the City is not retained in any form, electronic or otherwise, beyond the period necessary to complete the service requested by such individual. • Ensure that there is sufficient staffing for the IDNYC program so that sensitive data collected for IDNYC applications is not being retained in any form. Furthermore, the City should: – Fund additional staff to expand access to appointments for IDNYC to reduce the potential harm caused to those without identification during any possible contact with law enforcement. – Fund additional staff to develop and implement a process for community-based organizations to be able to complete IDNYC applications onsite and submit them directly to be processed. – Consider the impact of using addresses associated with the City’s HERRCs that would identify clients who use this documentation with law enforcement. We urge you, as the Mayor of New York City, to take these steps swiftly to ensure the safety of all New Yorkers, and especially those who are most vulnerable in this uncertain time. The people of New York City look to you to protect all those who have come here – whether many years ago or only recently – to join our community, start new lives, and contribute to the cultural wealth and economic strength that has long defined our city. Signed, Coalition for the Homeless The Legal Aid Society Win North American Climate, Conservation and Environment (NACCE) The Ali Forney Center Churches United for Fair Housing (CUFFH) Jews For Racial & Economic Justice The Episcopal Diocese of New York Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York Safe Horizon VOCAL-NY Make the Road NY Human Services Council African Communities Together National Homelessness Law Center The Interfaith Center of New York Housing Justice for All St. Paul & St. Andrew Ecclesia Ministries of New York Advocates for Children of New York The Door – A Center of Alternatives, Inc. Manhattan Church of Christ New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG)
