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It's time for New York to invest in immigration legal services!

It's time for New York to invest in immigration legal services!It's time for New York to invest in immigration legal services!It's time for New York to invest in immigration legal services!
Learn more about the CARE for Immigrant Families coalition demands!
Join us in Albany on February 3, 2026!

It's time for New York to invest in immigration legal services!

It's time for New York to invest in immigration legal services!It's time for New York to invest in immigration legal services!It's time for New York to invest in immigration legal services!
Learn more about the CARE for Immigrant Families coalition demands!
Join us in Albany on February 3, 2026!

About CARE for Immigrant Families Coalition & Goals

A broad coalition of elected officials, advocacy organizations, and impacted families have launched the Campaign for Access, Representation, and Equity (CARE) for Immigrant Families, to ensure that New York State expands funding for critical immigration legal representation services and to pass the Access to Representation Act (ARA) (A270/S141) . The bill will guarantee access to lawyers for immigrants at risk of deportation in New York. Sponsored by Senator Michael Gianaris and Assemblymember Catalina Cruz, the legislation would be the first in the nation to create a statewide right to a lawyer for people facing deportation who cannot afford representation, whether they have recently arrived in the state or have been New Yorkers for decades. 


The Building Up Immigrant Legal Defense (BUILD) Act (A2689/S4538) is a companion bill to the ARA that creates a dedicated 4 year fund for immigration legal services infrastructure. Our immigration system is nearly impossible to navigate without counsel, and legal assistance should not depend upon the ability to afford it.


The campaign is supported by a statewide coalition including the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), Immigrant ARC, the Vera Institute of Justice, and over 100 organizations, legal service providers, labor unions, faith groups, and elected officials. The bill is part of a coordinated effort to ensure New York State advances universal representation and fully funds legal and social services for people facing deportation in the state. Universal representation has wide support in New York: more than nine out of ten New Yorkers support government-funded representation for immigrants facing deportation.

Access to Representation Act

What is the #ARA?

 The Access to Representation Act will mandate that the State appoint a lawyer to anyone in New York who is at risk of deportation, and meets income requirements. The law will also guarantee stable funding streams for immigration legal services, easing the uncertainty that legal representatives and their clients face every year regarding whether an interruption in funding may disrupt ongoing legal representation. NY must pass the first-in-the-nation Access to Representation Act to ensure a right to counsel for all immigrants facing deportation in New York (S141/A270) and guarantee that no one must defend themselves against a trained government lawyer alone to protect themselves and their families from deportation.



About CARE for Immigrant Families

The Goal: Defend

The Impact: A Fighting Chance

The Goal: Defend

 The Access to Representation Act (ARA)  (A270/S141) would ensure a right to counsel for all immigrants facing deportation in New York and guarantee that no one must defend themselves against a trained government lawyer alone to protect themselves and their families from deportation.

The Plan: Invest

The Impact: A Fighting Chance

The Goal: Defend

The Building Up Immigrant Legal Defense (BUILD) Act (A2689/S4538) would serve more New Yorkers in need of representation in immigration court, legal services providers need not only funding for direct representation, but also investments in long term infrastructure to support the work of these expanding programs.

The Impact: A Fighting Chance

The Impact: A Fighting Chance

The Impact: A Fighting Chance

The Access to Representation Act will mandate that the State appoint a lawyer to anyone in New York who is at risk of deportation, and meets income requirements. The law will also guarantee stable funding streams for immigration legal services, easing the uncertainty that legal representatives and their clients face every year regarding w

The Access to Representation Act will mandate that the State appoint a lawyer to anyone in New York who is at risk of deportation, and meets income requirements. The law will also guarantee stable funding streams for immigration legal services, easing the uncertainty that legal representatives and their clients face every year regarding whether an interruption in funding may disrupt ongoing legal representation.

Access to Legal Services changes lives. Check this out:

Ayansley Landin is a political refugee and artist from Cuba who had to flee due to his music critiquing the government. Without the legal representation he found, he would have not known how to navigate our complicated legal system and received his work permit.

For any press inquiries or questions, contact info@care4immigrants.org

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