This summary was featured in Documented’s Early Arrival newsletter. You can subscribe to receive it in your inbox three times per week here.
To apply for the Excluded Workers Fund, applicants are required to show a series of documents, including an Individual Taxpayer Number. But IRS backlogs are preventing applicants from applying to the program while they wait for the agency to process their ITIN requests. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, State Sen. Jessica Ramos and Assemblymember Carmen De La Rosa wrote a letter to the IRS commissioner in April to urge the agency to expedite the ITIN application process. Schumer then directly called the agency to ensure the change. Applicants are now able to apply for funds by just showing proof that they applied for an ITIN. Gothamist
In other local immigration news…
Three Organizations Asking Mayorkas to #BringJeanHomeNow
Jean Montrevil, a Black immigrant and activist, was deported to Haiti in 2018 under the Trump administration but was recently granted a pardon by Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D). Families for Freedom, Judson Memorial Church and the NYU Immigrant Rights Clinic are asking Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to grant Montrevil a humanitarian parole so he could be reunited with his family. “We miss our father so much,” one of his daughters said in a video on Twitter. “It really took a toll on our family.” The groups created a “#BringJeanHomeNow” Action Toolkit to prompt individuals to spread the word and get Montrevil’s campaign to Mayorkas’ office. Deanna Garcia for Documented.
Documented and The Intercept Present: How 9/11 Changed Our Immigration System
📍 Documented Event
The September 11 attacks led to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as crackdowns on Muslims living throughout New York City. Since the agencies’ creation, ICE raids have become common. Documented and The Intercept will examine the legacy of the 9/11 attacks on immigration through a conversation with Azmat Zahra, an award-winning investigative journalist and director of Simon and June Li Center for Global Journalism at Columbia University, along with four experts on national security and immigration.
The panelists include:
Mohammad Razvi– Executive director and founder of the Council of Peoples Organization
Murtaza Hussain– Intercept reporter who focuses on national security and foreign policy
Asad Dandia– Co-founder of Muslims Giving Back and a plaintiff in Raza v. City of New York
Naz Ahmad– Staff attorney with the Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility Project
Register here for the free Zoom event on Monday, September 13 at 3 p.m.
