New York City, CUNY and CCNY Offer Immigrants Help

Millions of immigrants call New York City their home. Access to resources in different languages has been an issue for many, but community liaisons at the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) work to provide these services in different languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Bangla, Haitian Creole, and more.

“It is important to be out there and talk to people about the resources the city has to offer, not all of them know about these free services,” said Jannet Ramirez who works at MOIA and assists Spanish-speaking  immigrants.

“Some people don’t speak English at all, so giving out our pamphlets in different languages and providing our ‘Know Your Rights’ presentations are essential towards the welfare of our constituents,” she said.

But Ramirez, her co-workers and the office have noticed a decline in people attending outreach events. Some immigrants, apparently, feel scared to reach out to city agencies because the Trump administration has targeted immigrants for deportation. ICE agents have made and are making random arrests often regardless of immigration status.

But New York City is trying to help.

Ledia Dobi, deputy director of community engagement at MOIA said, “We were able to set up the Asylum Seeker Navigation Center to help them get connected with case workers and find out what each individual does need and how we can get them connected. For example, work authorization and asylum seeker applications are on a federal level. New York City can’t give you a work permit, New York City can’t give you asylum seeker status, but what we can do is connect you to a case worker or free legal aid, so an accredited representative or attorney can help the individual with their paperwork and application,”

Yet there are 3.5 million immigrants in New York City, according to the Center for Migration Studies. City government can’t help everyone.

When the city isn’t able to reach more communities, friends and some non-profits, CUNY and The City College of New York (CCNY) sometimes fill the gap.

Roxanna Cardenas, now a student at CCNY, received support from a friend when she arrived in the states. The 30-year-old from Venezuela got guidance from The Door, a non-profit.  They weren’t able to give her services since they work with youth from 12 to 24 years old, but her sister received assistance.

“They helped my sister throughout the whole immigration process because she was a minor at the time, went to court with them. She got legal representation, court and permission to stay here and get a green card,” she said. 

Cardenas got her IDNYC and immigration resources through this organization. But real help came from CUNY Citizenship Now! Staffers helped her to get her paperwork ready to become a citizen. The Immigrant Resource Center at The City College of New York also helped her prepare for interviews and gave her tips and advice. 

The help from CCNY and CUNY was important, Cardenas said. “There is a lot of bureaucracy involved, a lot of forms to fill out, a lot of people to talk to. So, as an immigrant student, I don’t have the time or the mental and physical energy to look for all these resources.”

Back at the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs free legal help is the most popular service. But with so many immigrants and so little money, immigrants wait months for help.

Dobi, the MOIA community engagement director, said legal help is especially important for dealing with bosses and landlords. “If you are experiencing wage theft, or your landlord is holding on and not making any repairs to your apartment because they’re threatening you with your immigrant status, you still have protections in New York City.”

She went on to encourage people to use the city’s services and said, “It doesn’t matter if the service they are seeking is MOIA specific. We are there to be that bridge. To make sure that you, as a New Yorker, no matter if you have status or not, whatever documents you have, it doesn’t matter to us, you are a New Yorker. So you should know these services are available to everybody.”