Old & New Immigrants: Their Rights Hochul Fails to Include Immigrant New Yorkers In Her Vision for New York in 2023 State of the State Address

New York, NY: Today, [Jan 12], Governor Hochul delivered her State of the State address and failed to include any mention of her vision for a New York agenda that includes immigrant New Yorkers. In her State of the State briefing book, Governor Hochul committed to working towards retraining immigrants who previously worked in skilled jobs, connecting asylum seekers with agricultural and food industry jobs, providing funding for refugee resettlement programs, expanding funding for the Office of New Americans, and expanding Essential Plan and Medicaid coverage for low-income New Yorkers.

While these investments are necessary, they are not nearly enough to ensure the health and well-being of immigrant New Yorkers.

Murad Awawdeh, Executive Director, New York Immigra-

tion Coalition: “Today, Governor Hochul failed to present a bold and ambitious plan for New York that substantially improves the lives of immigrant New York- continued on page 12

Immigrant Workers Will Be Protected/

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Will this protect workers? Many immigrant workers, both undocumented and those here on temporary work visas, decline to report labor violations out of fear of employer retaliation that will affect their immigration status. Corrupt employers have often evaded serious consequences for their malfeasance due to this fear.

Even when workers did come forward, ICE would sometimes deport them anyway, even mid-investigation. This happened infamously in 2019, when an undocumented worker injured in the Hard Rock Hotel collapse in New Orleans was deported weeks after the disaster, even though he was actively working with labor agency investigators.

The Biden administration is aiming to make sure that situations like that don’t happen again. This may give new confidence to many people who have previously been too afraid to come forward, even where serious violations have occurred.

If this new process is success- ful, it will create an administrative equivalent of the U Visa, but for labor violations. However, Congress authorized the U Visa process, and it provides a long-term path to permanent legal status. By contrast, deferred action is only temporary, and it can be terminated by a future administration. As a result, many workers may still feel nervous about coming forward, in the knowledge that the Biden administration’s positive reforms may not last. Despite this risk, there’s no doubt that this is a critical step in the right direction toward protecting immigrant workers and aligning their interests with native born workers.p

NYC Janitors/

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Workers received a message forwarded from Twitter on Dec. 19 simply informing them that, “We regret to inform you that Twitter has decided to terminate NYC Janitorial services….effective immediately.” Workers are demanding answers and their jobs back!

“This is potentially life changing for us. I have to change the way I live and what groceries I buy to save money after being laid off. My daughter was already helping me pay the bills, and now I’m unemployed. And losing healthcare benefits could be devastating. I need those benefits for my asthma, arthritis and other treatments and medications. I’m going to keep fighting until I get my job back! We will not let billionaires treat us like this,” said cleaner and 32BJ SEIU shop steward Lucy Calderon.

“Twitter’s decision to cancel the cleaning contract for its NYC office has upended the lives of these dedicated cleaners, many of whom have worked at this location since Twitter moved in seven years ago. NYC’s essential cleaners have done too much for this city to be treated like this,” said Denis Johnston, 32BJ SEIU Executive Vice President and Director of the Commercial Division. “They put their lives on the line to keep workers and the public safe throughout the pandemic and are essential to the city’s economic recovery in the aftermath of the pandemic. These union members and their families now face extreme hardship because of the loss of their good paying jobs with quality health insurance.” p

With more than 175,000 members in 12 states, 32BJ SEIU is the largest property service workers union in the country.

Hochul Fails / continued from page 11 ers and recognizes the challenges we face. While we are grateful for Governor Hochul’s commitments to some key programs, they are far from enough to ensure that all immigrant New Yorkers, including the over 30,000 newly arrived asylum seekers, have the support they need to integrate and thrive in New York State. Without a full $100M investment in the Access to Representation Act and immigration legal services funding our families remain at risk of being cruelly separated. Moreover, the lack of investment in health coverage for all New Yorkers, regardless of legal status, is no small oversight in light of the ongoing pandemic and the contributions of our communities to keeping New York open for business. Governor Hochul must further commit to supporting the passage and signing the New York for All Act, so that our immigrant communities are no longer terrorized by ICE and Border Patrol, and expanding Language Access further so all New Yorkers can access services in a language they comprehend. Governor Hochul cannot provide for some New Yorkers while leaving others out of the New York Dream she described in her address. Immigrants have always been the engine that fuels New York’s economy and now we need Governor Hochul to recognize that fact and build a state that works for all of us regardless of our legal status or wealth.”p