What New York Mayor Candidates Promise Immigrants

In New York, one of the world's leaders in immigration, foreigners make up 37%, or just over 3,1 million, of the total population. As of 2018, immigrants contributed $ 232 billion to the city's GDP and made up 45% of its workforce. But the injustice faced by immigrants from New York goes far beyond just immigration issues, which are largely overlooked. Edition DocumentedNY said that the candidates for the mayor of the city have prepared for immigrants.

New York City's poverty rate was 2017% in 19, according to the city's official government poverty measure, which includes factors such as eligibility for social benefits. But after adjusting conditions such as that illegal immigrants are not eligible for unemployment insurance, the city found that 22,1% of New Yorkers are foreign-born and 28,8% of illegal immigrants live in or close to poverty.

In the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, 1,8 million immigrants statewide were working in industries that were considered "important businesses" during New York State's business interruption, with one in five non-citizens working as key workers on the front lines of New York. The public health crisis has impacted the lives of immigrants in different ways, with delivery workers facing life-threatening working conditions and low wages, while immigrant patients are withdrawing from health care, fearing that it could affect their immigration status.

Immigrants are particularly vulnerable in the city's housing crisis, as half of New York City's working-class non-citizens have lost their jobs due to COVID-19, leaving them unable to pay their rent. Illegal residents who are threatened with eviction by homeowners fear going to the Housing Court because of their status. The city has seen a rise in the number of homeless camps, including in areas with large foreign-born residents, which immigrant advocates say indicate an increase in homelessness among working-class immigrants since the pandemic.

Leaving these issues unresolved could have unintended consequences for New York City, especially as the city hopes to recover from the pandemic. “If you ask me what the real threat is to the city, my answer is that the real threat is that we will stop attracting immigrants,” said Joseph J. Salvo, the city's chief demographer for 30 years, recently.

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Last week, New York State adopted a historic $ 2,1 billion relief fund, or 1% of the state's $ 212 billion budget, for illegal workers who were excluded from quarantine or state unemployment benefits. Although the fund can provide one-time cash assistance to approximately 342 city workers, advocates have expressed concerns about some of the requirements for accessing the relief fund.

Lawyers have long called on politicians to tackle immigrant issues. There are comprehensive reports that offer a broad vision of policy platforms to help New York City immigrants achieve greater equity in a variety of sectors, including housing, healthcare, the economy, and civic engagement.

According to Hasan Shafikulla, attorney in charge in the Immigration Law Division of the Legal Aid Society, which serves clients to protect against expulsion and to process positive immigration benefits such as citizenship and green cards, the city can play a large role in helping New immigrants York City feel safe.

“I think the city has something to do to make people trust them and feel safe here again,” he said.

Several New York City mayoral candidates have enthusiastically supported a new bill in the City Council that will expand the voting rights in municipal elections to temporary work permit immigrants and permanent residents. But during the campaign, candidates rarely raised immigration issues.

Here are the candidates' proposals in five main areas that are usually considered priority for immigration groups.

Eric Adams

What did he suggest

Health: create one-stop health centers in underserved communities; and link safety net hospitals with wealthier ones to share the cost. He also proposed increasing funding for NYC Cares to expand outreach to immigrant communities and include them in city health plans that immigrants are already eligible for.

Civil rights and law enforcement: commits to instructing all city departments to make their services available without putting immigrants at risk of law enforcement and expanding existing legal services. He supports a bill to allow permanent residents and immigrants who are eligible to work in the United States to vote in municipal elections.

What he didn't offer

Access to benefits: does not mention any support measures to enable immigrants to access or qualify for benefits available to other New Yorkers regardless of their immigration status.

Economy / workers' rights: While Adams' proposal includes a next-level job program for workers, it makes no mention of expanding access to these programs for illegal workers, who are largely ineligible for the program because of their immigration status. Instead, Adams is focusing on cost-cutting measures for employers through tax breaks and state support for cost-sharing, which can help the sectors of business in which immigrants work.

Civil rights and law enforcement: does not offer specific protections or prohibitions on city law enforcement cooperation with ICE.

Obstacles to obtaining citizenship: no mention is made of services to help immigrants obtain a residence permit or citizenship.

Scott Stringer

What did he suggest

Health: Stringer supports children's access to subsidized health care, regardless of immigration status and social welfare hospital funding.

Civil rights and law enforcement: proposes the creation of a public legal translator bank (CLIB) to train and dispatch translators to legal service providers, and supports the elimination of any collaboration between the NYPD and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Supports expanding municipal voting rights for all non-citizens, including illegal New Yorkers.

Ways to obtain citizenship: proposes the creation of a New York City Citizenship Fund to support immigrants applying for citizenship.

Economy / workers' rights: Stringer supports efforts to combat wage theft faced by immigrant workers.

What he didn't offer

Health: it does not offer investment for community organizations to advocate for existing health services available to immigrant communities.

Access to benefits: does not mention any measures that allow immigrants to access or qualify for benefits that are available to other New Yorkers, regardless of their immigration status.

Economy / workers' rights: while Stringer wants to strengthen the city's education program, he makes no mention of expanding access for illegal immigrants who are denied access to such programs.

Maya Vili

What did she suggest

Health: Supports efforts to create a universal system in the state that is accessible to all non-citizens, regardless of immigration status.

Civil rights and law enforcement: Supports funding for the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project, the city's public protection system for immigrants facing deportation, and is committed to overseeing prosecutions for police overwork. She expressed support for the city council's bill to expand municipal voting rights for non-citizen green card holders.

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Access to benefits: wants to invest in a benefit program for domestic workers, many of whom are immigrants, and a universal community care system that provides services such as benefit counseling, food banks and adult education classes.

What she didn't offer

Economy / workers' rights: does not include measures specifically designed to support or increase access to resources for immigrant workers or entrepreneurs.

Ways to obtain citizenship: no mention is made of measures specifically aimed at supporting immigrants on the path to citizenship.

Andrew Young

What did he suggest

Healthcare: Expands NYC Care, the primary survival tool for many immigrants.

Access to benefits: creates a city cash aid program that will be available to non-citizens, regardless of immigration status or work experience.

Civil rights and law enforcement: supports expanding access and funding for immigration legal services such as the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project.

What he didn't offer

Economy / workers' rights: does not include measures specifically designed to support or increase access to resources for immigrant workers or entrepreneurs.

Civil rights and law enforcement: Young does not mention any prohibitions or restrictions on the cooperation of city law enforcement agencies with immigration law enforcement agencies. He did not speak out for non-citizens to be able to vote in local elections.

Ways to obtain citizenship: no mention is made of any measures to support immigrants on their way to citizenship.

Sean Donovan

What did he suggest

Health: he pledged to create a public opportunity to provide health care to uninsured and illegal New Yorkers and expand access to city services for immigrant communities. Donovan also wants to push the state to expand eligibility for his Essential Plan, New York City's public health plan for people who are not eligible for Medicaid or Child Health Plus, to all low-income New Yorkers, regardless of immigration status.

Civil rights and law enforcement: he proposes to end the city's policy of excluding some immigrants from city-funded legal representation based on criminal history, and supports expanding resources and funding for legal services for immigrants. Supports a bill allowing non-citizens to vote in municipal elections, including illegal immigrants.

What he didn't offer

Access to benefits: does not mention any support measures to enable immigrants to access or qualify for benefits available to other New Yorkers regardless of their immigration status.

Economy / workers' rights: Donovan wants to provide technical support to immigrant entrepreneurs, but does not include measures to support the protection of immigrant workers.

Ways to obtain citizenship: no mention is made of any measures to support immigrants on their way to citizenship.

Ray McGuire

What did he suggest

Health: McGuire wants to prioritize immigrant communities in vaccine deployment and hire community members to advocate for affordable health care. It is also proposed to provide immigrants with more employment opportunities in the health care sector to eliminate discrimination against immigrant patients.

Civil rights and law enforcement: supports expanding the right to consult and increasing funding for immigration legal services in the city.

What he didn't offer

Economy / workers' rights: McGuire's proposal focuses on providing assistance to small business owners, including non-citizens, such as allowing a free license renewal during his first year in office and covering 50% of workers' wages for one year, which could have a ripple effect on workers - immigrants. But it does not include specific measures to support or expand access to resources for immigrant workers.

Access to benefits: no mention is made of any measures to expand access to existing programs, from which some non-citizens are excluded due to immigration status.

Civil rights and law enforcement: did not advocate that non-citizens could vote in local elections.

Ways to obtain citizenship: no mention is made of measures to support immigrants on their way to citizenship.

Catherine Garcia

What did she suggest

Health: expands services in local health centers and wants to partner with community organizations to reach immigrant residents.

Access to benefits: plans to ensure equal access to city programs, such as cash assistance, for non-citizens, regardless of immigration status.

Civil rights and law enforcement: wants to invest in legal services programs such as the New York Immigrant Freedom Fund, which pays out immigration bonds for detainees who cannot afford it, and supports compliance with the pre-existing Our Courts Protection Act, which restricts immigration law enforcement from making arrests in local courts.

What she didn't offer

Economy / workers' rights: does not include measures specifically designed to support or increase access to resources for immigrant workers or entrepreneurs.

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Civil rights and law enforcement: she does not support a bill to expand municipal voting rights for non-citizen immigrants. Does not advocate allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections.

Ways to obtain citizenship: no mention is made of measures to support immigrants on their way to citizenship.

Diane Morales

What did she suggest

Health: Expanding translation services to connect non-citizens with information about the COVID-19 vaccine as part of the NYC 5000 initiative and address vaccine inequalities in immigrant communities through the COVID-19 Equity and Data Response Team.

Access to benefits: the creation of an independent city fund to provide basic income benefits for immigrant workers who do not have access to federal and state benefits.

Civil rights and law enforcement: plans to expand funding for New York City's Immigrant Family Unification Project to include non-detained immigrants and simplify the detainee law, which currently requires city police to hand over a non-citizen detained to ICE if they are found guilty of one of 177 violent crimes ... Morales also proposes an end to the NYPD targeting immigrants, especially illegal immigrants such as street vendors. Supports a bill allowing non-citizens to vote in municipal elections.

Economy / workers' rights: proposes the creation of a general benefit fund for informal and domestic workers, many of whom are immigrants, to provide medical and other benefits, and commits to protecting all workers from wage theft, which may benefit non-citizen workers.

What she didn't offer

Ways to obtain citizenship: does not mention specific measures to support immigrants on the path to citizenship.