This summary was featured in Documented’s Early Arrival newsletter. You can subscribe to receive it in your inbox three times per week here.
Tomorrow at noon in City Hall Park, New York City council members Alexa Avilés, Carmen de la Rosa, Shahana Hanif, as well as excluded workers and immigrant advocates, will hold a press event to call on the state to replenish the Excluded Workers Fund with $3 billion. They will also call on the state to fix the gaps in the state’s social safety net, including through a permanent unemployment insurance program for those excluded from regular unemployment insurance because of their immigration status or the type of work they do. Immigrant advocates have sought to refill the EWF since it ran out of money in October. There are still 175,000 excluded workers who could be eligible for benefits if the fund is expanded.
孰真孰假？对特朗普关于移民的言论的事实核查
In other local immigration news…
Afghans Help Each Other Start Over in Capital Region
📍Documented Original
About 1,800 Afghans of the 76,000 who fled their home country last summer ended up in New York state. For most, the exit was traumatic, and the adjustment to life in the United States adds layers of complication for those who resettled. They face challenges including learning a new language, a different education system, and difficulties finding employment, housing, and transportation, and health insurance. Fariba and Mohammad Khwajazada are among those who resettled, and have been in Albany for three months with seven of their eight children. Though they are grateful for the sense of safety they now feel, the family said in a recent interview with Documented’s Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio that the transition has been tough. Read more on Documented.
City’s Immigrant Office to Partner With CUNY for Citizenship Assistance
The National Partnership for New Americans, in collaboration with other nonprofits, and the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs held a press conference on the steps of City Hall yesterday to announce a new partnership encouraging eligible legal permanent residents to become U.S. citizens. Commissioner Manuel Castro of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs gave a speech, stating the city’s commitment to naturalize eligible legal permanent residents. The office will be partnering with CUNY Citizenship Now as part of its “Naturalize 2 Million by 2022.” Over 9 million legal permanent residents in the U.S. are eligible for citizenship, with over a million living in New York state, including more than 600,000 in New York City.
How a New York-Based Nonprofit Has Been Helping Young Dancers Flee Ukraine
More than 80 young Ukrainian dancers have found safe haven at prestigious ballet schools with the help of New York-based nonprofit Youth America Grand Prix, which has operated the world’s largest student ballet scholarship competition since 1999. As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine worsened and waves of refugees flooded out of the country, YAGP began working to secure children spots at ballet schools throughout Europe. Once the group arranged placement, they emailed acceptance letters, which dancers could use to help their case for getting across the border. Sometimes the young students would have to leave Ukraine alone, but others were able to take their mothers, sisters and grandmothers with them. Los Angeles Times
