PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Lauren Reiff, Associate Director of the Immigrant Protection Unit at New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG)
4:45:04
ยท
3 min
Lauren Reiff from NYLAG testifies about the urgent need for action to protect immigrants in light of increased ICE enforcement and data collection concerns. She highlights the ramping up of deportations and raids, issues with data sharing in the shelter system, and the importance of legal services for immigrants.
- ICE has already increased enforcement efforts, including deporting families with children
- The city's data collection practices, particularly in shelters, raise privacy and sanctuary law concerns
- There's a need for the city to cease unnecessary data collection, implement enforceability measures, and invest in legal services rather than just providing information
Lauren Reiff
4:45:04
Hi.
4:45:04
Good afternoon, and thank you for the opportunity to testify.
4:45:07
My name is Lauren Raef, and I'm the associate director of the immigrant protection unit at NILAG.
4:45:12
I will be submitting written testimonies, so I just wanna highlight a couple of key points here, that I think are important in light of what has already been said.
4:45:21
So as a member of the rapid response legal collaborative together with Unlocal and Make the Road New York, NILAG has been in a position to see, that since the election, ICE has already substantially ramped up enforcement efforts, and and has already begun what we're all talking about as if you're for the future.
4:45:41
It's actually present right now, that people are being deported at a rate we haven't seen in a while, that raids are occurring at a rate that we haven't seen in a while.
4:45:51
And that for the first time in my memory, it's not only adults, but families with children who are being collectively removed from the country in violation of current policies of the Biden administration, because ICE understands that those won't be in place very much longer.
4:46:06
So this is a matter of significant urgency right now, and I really appreciate that this, committee is overlooking is is overseeing, data collection to make sure that the city isn't contributing to this problem.
4:46:19
NILAG is also proudly partnered with, WIN, a shelter provider in New York City.
4:46:24
And through our partnership with them, we've also seen, that the city has increased its data collection, with regard to immigrant families in shelter.
4:46:34
In particular through the host NYC, database, shelter providers are are required to collect information such as a numbers, countries of origin, dates of entry for for people residing in shelter, and that database is available to not only the, the city agencies, but also all the contractors can see information about the residents of every other shelter, who's, using this database.
4:47:02
And that information has been shared with, for example, the National Guard, which has, gone into shelters and knocked on doors for the purpose of scheduling appointments at, at the asylum seeker navigation center, but nevertheless, the information is being collected and shared freely without regard for the privacy laws, and the sanctuary laws that the city has, implemented.
4:47:29
And so we would ask that the, council take steps to cause the city to cease to collect unnecessary data, add enforceability measures such as intro 214, and, invest in legal services.
4:47:46
We appreciate that Moyah is expanding.
4:47:48
Know your rights and screenings, but, information, without the support of legal services is insufficient, and the ex to the extent that the provisioning of these additional services is coming at the expense of funding for legal services, it's actively harmful.
4:48:05
Thank you for your time.