TESTIMONY
Tania Mattos, Interim Executive Director of UnLocal, on the ProSe Plus Project and the Rapid Response Legal Collaborative
3:52:09
·
3 min
Tania Mattos, representing UnLocal, emphasizes the nonprofit's direct legal services for undocumented immigrants in New York and expresses concerns over proposed budget cuts.
- Mattos testifies about UnLocal's ProSe Plus Project and Rapid Response Legal Collaborative, highlighting their roles in providing legal support and education to undocumented communities.
- The ProSe Plus Project offers comprehensive legal support for asylum applications, including court preparations and full case representations, benefiting thousands annually.
- Mattos urges continued and multi-year city funding for these projects, citing their proven effectiveness in aiding immigration cases.
- She expresses profound concern about the impact of the mayor's budget cuts on the Rapid Response Legal Collaborative, crucial for defending against deportations.
- Mattos calls for reconsideration of these cuts, underscoring the collaborative's unique role and its vital support for New York's immigrant communities.
Tania Mattos
3:52:09
Good afternoon, chairwoman.
3:52:10
My name is Tanya Matos.
3:52:12
I'm the interim executive director at a local.
3:52:16
Thank you for the opportunity to testify a chairwoman at a local is in a a community centered nonprofit organization that provides direct immigration, legal representation, and community education to New York's undocumented.
3:52:30
Immigrant communities.
3:52:32
I'm here to talk about 2 programs.
3:52:35
1 is a prosay plus project, and the other is a rapid response legal collaborative.
3:52:40
The profit plus project is a strategic collaboration between local African communities together, Catholic Migration Services, central American legal assistance, dialogue, Masa, and Venezuelans and immigrants aid.
3:52:55
And we're partially funded by the city.
3:52:57
In 2023, we've conducted 90 pre community presentations trained had 35 trainings where we trained over almost 2000 supporters, helped 13 legal clinics, and help thousands of individuals apply for asylum.
3:53:14
Now in 2023, we're set to enhance our prosay model and support by extending beyond the initial filing of asylum applications.
3:53:23
Our expansion includes preparing people for court preparing declarations for hearings, compiling country country conditions, etcetera.
3:53:31
And in many cases, we provide a friend of the court appearances and take on full representation of cases.
3:53:38
We urge this the city to continue investment in our proven model, which has offered a crucial legal support to thousands of immigrant of their of thousands of people in immigration cases.
3:53:48
But we're afraid that this may be similar to year by year funding that we'd have to fight for.
3:53:54
So we encourage them multiyear funding to happen for the Prosafe Plus project.
3:54:00
And finally, I wanna address the profound impact of the mayor's announced budget cuts impacting the rapid response legal collaborative.
3:54:07
A collaborative involving on local Mink The Road And New York Legal Assistance Group.
3:54:12
And I'm profoundly concerned about the proposed loss of city funding to this program.
3:54:18
This program was established during the Trump administration, and we exclusively take on deportation people with deportation orders for long standing residents and for new New Yorkers.
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We provide vital free legal services that would otherwise cost 1000 of dollars.
3:54:35
And it basically is our is is community member's last last stands before being deported.
3:54:41
It stands as a unique unique and invaluable project in the entire country.
3:54:46
Unfortunately, the mayor has proposed slashing the budget.
3:54:51
And referrals to the RLC have since doubled since last October, And ironically, like, make the role mentioned, is that many of these referrals come from the city's own asylum center.
3:55:08
So we urge you to collaborate with nonprofits and reconsider these cuts and fund the rapid response lead collaborative as it as as it is a vital safeguard in rights and livelihoods of our fellow New Yorkers and join us in preserving it.
3:55:23
Thank you for your time.