
Immigrant Justice
What We do
More than three million immigrants live in New York City. They helped weave the fabric of the City’s history and are critical to its future. Yet these communities face unjust and unlawful barriers to living, working, going to school, and accessing healthcare. Entrenched barriers based on immigration status leave hundreds of thousands without medical care. Government agencies routinely deny access to services based on language ability—often a form of discrimination based on national origin.
Changes to immigration policy and increased enforcement have created fear of accessing government services and critical medical care. Recently proposed revisions to the “public charge” rules are projected to cause significant pullback in community members’ using government health and food security programs – even for children – because eligible immigrants are afraid of risking their status. Drastically reduced federal civil rights enforcement has left our client communities more vulnerable to abuse.
NYLPI has a long commitment to immigrant justice and to addressing the challenges faced by immigrant communities. Notable successes include our coalition efforts that achieved Executive Order 26, a statewide language access policy that demands that state agencies that interact directly with the public translate vital public documents in the most common non-English languages and provide interpretation services, and SafeRx, a law requiring pharmacy and mail-order chains to provide translation and interpretation. Our class action litigation resulted in the New York City Transit Authority’s robust language access policy for Access-A-Ride, the City’s paratransit service for people with disabilities. Our current litigation challenges the human rights crisis in healthcare for people in immigration detention. We fight for healthcare for undocumented uninsured immigrants with serious health conditions whose status should not bar access to health insurance and effective medical care. We will continue to adapt and respond to the rapid pace of changing needs of our immigrant communities.
GET HELP
If you are a person with a serious health condition and you are uninsured; in immigration detention; or denied language access at hospitals – we may be able to help. Please also call us if you are have trouble accessing any government services because of language access. Please call (212) 244-4664, Monday to Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
RESOURCES
New York Lawyers For the Public Interest Honors Recipients of the 2022 Felix A. Fishman Awards
NYLPI’s Testimony on FY23 City Budget Priorities
NYLPI’s Comments on “Public Charge” Grounds of Inadmissibility
Press Release: Detained Immigrants Report Continued Retaliation, Medical Neglect, Racist Abuse and Deplorable Conditions at New York Jail
Major Hospitals, Healthcare Networks, Clinics, and Medical Providers Urge Expansion of Health Coverage to New Yorkers Regardless of Immigration Status
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Campaigns
Fair Housing
Rapid gentrification in New York City has created an affordable housing crisis. People with disabilities and immigrants are at particular risk for discrimination.
Health in Immigration Detention
Thousands of immigrant New Yorkers receive abysmal health care in immigrant detention facilities in and around the City.
Coverage4All
As part of the Coverage 4 All Coalition Steering Committee, we pursue health coverage for all New Yorkers regardless of immigration status.
UndocuCare
For the 250,000 immigrant New Yorkers who are undocumented and uninsured, access to healthcare is deeply limited.
Cases
Sosa v. Hudson County
Bonilla v. Hudson County
The family of Carlos Bonilla, a father of four who died from internal bleeding in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention, has filed a lawsuit against Hudson County and those responsible for his medical care while he was confined to immigration detention at Hudson County Correctional Center.
Jorge v. NYC Transit Authority
For years, the New York City Transit Authority refused to make Access-A-Ride available to people with disabilities who had limited English proficiency.
Charles v. United States
Charles v. United States is a federal lawsuit against the United States for failing to provide mental health discharge planning to an individual with diagnosed mental illnesses who was confined to immigration detention.
Charles v. Orange County
Charles v. Orange County is a federal lawsuit challenging Orange County, New York’s unconstitutional “discharge and dump” policy targeted at New Yorkers with mental illness in immigration detention.
Staff

Emily Hodgkins
Post-Graduate Legal Fellow
Arielle Wisbaum
Health Justice Fellow
Amber Khan
Director of Health Justice
Yleana Roman
Senior Staff Attorney
Justin Wood
Director of Policy
Maureen Belluscio
Senior Staff Attorney
Marinda van Dalen
Senior Staff Attorney
Karina Albistegui Adler
Law Graduate
The City: Paratransit Users Warn MTA Not to Leave Them Behind in Budget Revamp
THE CITY | JULY 2022 On July 27, Access-a-Ride paratransit users spoke out at a rally in front of MTA headquarters to demand the expansion of On-Demand service. The On-Demand pilot program has given riders expanded flexibility in transportation plans while reducing...

NYLPI’s Megan Carr Delivers Testimony in Support of New York State’s Build Public Renewables Act
Environmental Justice Legal Intern Megan Carr delivered testimony in front of the New York State Assembly in support of the Build Public Renewables Act (BPRA) on behalf of NYLPI as a member of PEAK Coalition. This special joint assembly hearing was held to determine...

Bronx News 12: Eman Rimawi-Doster Demands More Accessible Transportation For All
BRONX NEWS 12 | JULY 2022 NYLPI Access-a-Ride Campaign Coordinator and Organizer Eman Rimawi-Doster was featured in Bronx News 12's coverage of the Access-a-Ride rally outside MTA headquarters in support of expanding On-Demand service: "If we can find money for luxury...

Testimony of Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney on Access-a-Ride On-Demand Program
New York Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney delivered testimony to the Metropolitan Transit Agency (MTA) in support of prioritizing the expansion of Access-a-Ride's On-Demand program. Access-a-Ride (AAR) is NYC’s accessible van transportation system and a lifeline for...

NYLPI Announces 2022 Felix A. Fishman Award Winners
On July 20, NYLPI celebrated the 2022 Felix A. Fishman Awards for Extraordinary Advocacy through a highly-attended outdoor ceremony at City Winery — the first in-person ceremony in two years. Established in 2003, the Felix A. Fishman Awards are given by NYLPI every...

The Americans with Disabilities Act’s 32nd Anniversary
July 26th, 2022 marks the 32nd anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA is a landmark civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities. Passed in 1990, the ADA was a hard-fought win after decades...

Event Recap: Staten Island Environmental Justice Waterfront Symposium
NYLPI Director of Policy Justin Wood participated in a panel discussion on an environmental justice agenda for Staten Island as part of the Staten Island Urban Center's first waterfront and environmental justice symposium. Highlights included honoring Beryl Thurman,...

The City: Non-Cop Response Teams Handled Just 16% of 911 Mental Health Crisis Calls
THE CITY | JULY 2022 Further results from New York City's Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division ("B-HEARD") pilot -- a proposed non-police alternative to mental health crisis response -- demonstrate that only 16% of 911 mental health crisis calls...

Letter to the Editor: When Police Kill, We Need to See What Happened
NY DAILY NEWS | JULY 2022 NYLPI's Senior Staff Attorney for Disability Justice Marinda van Dalen wrote a letter to the editor featured in NY Daily News addressing the NYPD's unwillingness to release body cam footage from two recent fatal police shootings. "NYLPI has...

IL First District Appellate Court Grants NYLPI’s Motion to Submit an Amicus Brief Decrying Involuntary Electroconvulsive Therapy
The Illinois First District appellate court granted a motion by NYLPI to file an amicus brief on behalf of John F., a person who was ordered to receive involuntary electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) by Illinois' Cook County Circuit Court. John F., a 65-year-old with no...