PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Young Immigrant on Challenges Faced by Migrant Youth Under 21
3:21:36
·
3 min
A young immigrant, speaking through a French interpreter, provides testimony about the challenges faced by migrant youth under 21 in New York City. The speaker highlights difficulties in accessing legal representation, housing stability, education, and essential services.
- The speaker is approaching 21 and will soon be ineligible for family court assistance
- Migrants face issues with frequent relocation between boroughs, hindering access to English classes and other services
- The testimony emphasizes the need for support in areas such as legal aid, stable housing, and protection from dangerous influences in shelters
UNKNOWN (via French Interpreter)
3:21:36
I'm very honored to be here speaking to you today.
3:21:48
I'm here to speak about my own case and about all of us who are migrants under twenty one years old.
3:22:01
I I think I'm well placed to talk about our collective situation.
3:22:10
I was the name I was born on December 31 2003.
UNKNOWN
3:22:22
Yeah.
UNKNOWN (via French Interpreter)
3:22:24
So 8, which means that in a few months, I will no longer be eligible for family court.
3:22:38
I've gone from organization to organization and and seeking legal representation, some kind of aid, and I have been unable to find it.
3:22:55
A lot of lawyers are asking for money that I don't have to pay them.
3:23:07
And I have no way of getting work or of accessing the services that I need.
3:23:22
And, also, we have problems in the public housing where we're living and getting any kind of information about how to access help.
3:23:46
And we are we really would like to continued studies or going back to to studying.
3:23:53
But we have a problem with the 60 day law and and where we're gonna be ending up.
UNKNOWN
3:23:59
We perform also the we'll perform on a Brooklyn, perform occupancy, perform on a What happened?
UNKNOWN (via French Interpreter)
3:24:07
We we have no address.
3:24:08
We rotate between the different boroughs.
3:24:10
Sometimes we're in Manhattan, sometimes we're in Brooklyn, sometimes we're in the Bronx, and it's impossible for people to keep track of us or us to keep track of what's going
UNKNOWN
3:24:17
on.
UNKNOWN (via French Interpreter)
3:24:26
Most especially, it prevents us from enrolling in courses where we could take English lessons, which are vital to us advancing in this society.
3:24:42
In the shelters where we are currently living, we're exposed to all sorts of dangerous influences.
3:24:58
Sometimes our what little possessions we have gets stolen.
3:25:07
And so we really welcome the opportunity to present this situation to you in hopes that we can get some kind of support.
UNKNOWN
3:25:15
Yeah.
3:25:15
Thank you.
UNKNOWN (via French Interpreter)
3:25:16
Thank you.
3:25:17
Thank you.
3:25:20
Thank