In other local immigration news…
Immigrant advocacy groups filed a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, alleging abuse and unsafe conditions at the Orange County Jail in Goshen. Firsthand accounts from ten detained immigrants allege “jail officials individually and collectively engage in a culture of racist and retaliatory abuse, violence, and medical neglect,” the complaint said. Among other allegations of racism detailed in the complaint, guards have “especially targeted Black immigrants,” it alleged. The facility has previously faced allegations of mistreatment of detained immigrants, and has also undergone various Covid-related complaints since the start of the pandemic.
In other local immigration news…
纽约州“能源补助”申请指南
Contractor Known for Dangerous Job Sites, Theft Leads $38 Million NYCHA Renovation
📍Documented Original
Construction company Pizzarotti LLC faces at least three lawsuits over flawed construction and failing deadlines, and 49 workers have also accused the company of wage theft. But the New York City Housing Authority still hired Pizzarotti to restore its Amsterdam Houses without vetting him. Workers have paid the price: five workers have been injured while working on the project, making Pizzarotti the contractor with the most injured workers on NYCHA properties in the last 13 months. Pizzarotti also has a track record of failing to notify the Department of Buildings about accidents, as mandated by law. All of the five accidents on the Amsterdam Houses site were not reported, a Department of Buildings official told Documented. Continue reading on Documented
Lawful Permanent Resident Status (LPR) for Immigrants in the U.S.
📍Documented Original
Residents with lawful permanent status, also known as green card holders, can live and work in the U.S. permanently and eventually apply for citizenship. Their status allows them to apply for work, own property, receive federal financial assistance, and live permanently anywhere in the U.S. LPRs can join the armed forces and later apply for citizenship, among other benefits. In order to successfully obtain citizenship, an LPR must maintain their status for five years (or three years for those who obtain their green card through a marriage-based application) and successfully complete the citizenship test. This article is part of Documented’s Glossary, which aims to explain the U.S. immigration system. Read more about LPR on Documented
Community Groups Demand Health Care for Black Immigrants With Coverage for All Act
Activists from the New York Immigration Coalition and the African Services Committee are demanding better health care coverage for Black immigrants. They’re also asking New York State to pass Coverage for All legislation that would create a state-funded health coverage option for uninsured New Yorkers, regardless of immigration status. Immigrants reportedly resorted to self-administered treatments during the pandemic because they were afraid that sharing their information would put them at risk of deportation. New York Assembly and Senate committees are currently considering the Coverage for All, which would cost around $345 million to cover uninsured New Yorkers. Amsterdam News
Albany County Donates $50K for Afghan Evacuees’ Legal Services
Albany Law School and the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants have received $50,000 from New York’s Albany County to provide legal services to Afghan evacuees. The Albany division of the committee has resettled over 300 Afghan evacuees since September. With the donation, the law school and the group will help the evacuees find a pathway to citizenship. “The U.S. government, after a thorough vetting, only provided (evacuees) with temporary status that expires two years from their date of arrival,” Sara Lowry, staff attorney at USCRI, said at a press conference held at Albany Law School Thursday. “They are left extremely vulnerable at the end of those two years,” Lowry added. “And to expect somebody new to our country to navigate their own way through the immigration system is preposterous.” Times Union
