Immigrant Advocates Commend City Council Advances In Inclusive Budget

Yesterday, the New York City Council released its response to Mayor Adams’ preliminary budget for fiscal year 2024.

Murad Awawdeh, Executive Director, New York Immigration Coalition:
“The New York City Council’s response to the Mayor’s preliminary budget is an important rebuke of the Mayor’s austerity measures and a first step in ensuring the vitality and wellbeing of all of New York City’s communities. Restoring cuts to 3K, creating pay parity for 3K and Pre-K, and restoring adult literacy funding, are all vital to ensure all New Yorkers, regardless of age, can receive a quality education. We also applaud the restoration and investment in our City’s libraries, as they are not only pillars of our communities, but their buildings are where many essential service programs are held. The proposed investment in the CityPHEPS program will help transition families out of the city’s overburdened shelters to permanent housing. However, we must continue to stress the need for the expansion of this and other voucher programs to all people in shelters and HERRCs regardless of their immigration status. The proposed renewal of Promise NYC funding is crucial but must be increased to ensure all New Yorkers can access childcare.”

“…ensure all New Yorkers can access childcare.“

Murad continues, “Additionally, the Council’s support for language access expansion, specifically the community interpreter bank and language services worker cooperatives for African, Asian, and Indigenous Central & South Americans languages of limited diffusion, is vital to ensuring that all New Yorkers can access services in their preferred languages. We look forward to building on this foundation by adding additional resources in the final budget, to ensure that our immigrant families’ needs are met, and that they can live their fullest lives in New York.”

The New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) is an umbrella policy & advocacy organization that represents over 200 immigrant and refugee rights groups throughout New York.

The NYIC serves one of the largest and most diverse newcomer populations in the United States. The multi-racial and multi-sector NYIC membership base includes grassroots and nonprofit community organizations, religious and academic institutions, labor unions, as well as legal and socioeconomic justice organizations.

The NYIC not only establishes a forum for immigrant groups to voice their concerns, but also provides a platform for collective action to drive positive social change.

Since its founding in 1987, the NYIC has evolved into a powerful voice of advocacy by spearheading innovative policies, promoting and protecting the rights of immigrant communities, improving newcomer access to services, developing leadership and capacity, expanding civic participation, and mobilizing member groups to respond to the fluctuating needs of immigrant communities.

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