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Q&A
Council Member Brewer questions OASO on asylum seeker services and ICE raids
1:49:33
·
4 min
Council Member Gale Brewer engages in a discussion with Molly Schaefer from the Office of Asylum Seeker Operations (OASO) about the current state of asylum seekers in New York City. Brewer inquires about the number of migrants in the system, advocates for expanded services, and questions the city's knowledge of ICE raids.
- Brewer emphasizes the importance of programs like guardianship, workforce training, and education for asylum seekers.
- She expresses concern about the lack of basic services being provided to asylum seekers in shelters.
- The discussion highlights the challenges in coordinating and providing comprehensive services to the asylum seeker population in NYC.
Gale Brewer
1:49:33
Thank you.
1:49:33
I'm sorry, chair.
1:49:34
I had another meeting, but I have been listening on the, cell phone.
1:49:38
So I just maybe it's here.
1:49:40
I don't see it.
1:49:41
But exactly how many families and how many singles are now in the system in terms of new arrivals?
1:49:54
I know what the total number is in terms of
Molly Schaefer
1:49:56
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
1:49:57
Sorry.
1:49:57
So there's total number of individuals.
1:50:02
So we have 43,300 migrants in the system.
Gale Brewer
1:50:06
Okay.
Molly Schaefer
1:50:08
80% of them are families with children which is about 34,800.
Gale Brewer
1:50:13
Okay.
Molly Schaefer
1:50:15
1,300 are individuals in adult families, so that's 3%.
Gale Brewer
1:50:20
Okay.
Molly Schaefer
1:50:20
And single adults, which is male and female, is about 17%, which is about 7,200.
Gale Brewer
1:50:27
Okay, that's 300.
1:50:28
Alright, so the reason I'm asking is I've been working a lot with the singles.
1:50:33
This is how many you know, you heard about this guardianship program?
1:50:37
No.
1:50:38
I think I'm the only one that knows about it.
1:50:41
It basically you can become a guardian.
1:50:43
You work with legal aid.
1:50:45
You end up, being the guardian.
1:50:48
And then if before you're 21.
1:50:50
And then guess what?
1:50:51
That person does not get deported.
1:50:54
So everybody should be a guardian.
1:50:55
I'm a guardian.
1:50:56
I'm a guardian for a whole bunch of people.
1:50:58
That's what you should do.
1:50:59
Now I'm learning what happens.
1:51:01
So my question to you for the singles, because the 17%, obviously everybody's eligible for these programs.
1:51:07
But it seems to me that, I'm finding nobody has a just the just the basics that you could be doing with the shelters.
1:51:16
Everybody should be a guardian.
1:51:18
Just make every city employee should be a guardian.
1:51:21
Then, lots of people don't know about work force one.
1:51:27
Just to give you an example, I know that you have your own work force programs.
1:51:31
I think that the Department of Education is walking on water.
1:51:36
They're so fabulous.
1:51:37
And I think that district seventy nine should be given gold stars.
1:51:41
Everybody should sign up for the GED program.
1:51:43
You can get in.
1:51:44
Takes a few phone calls from Gail Brewer to get it moving, but it does.
1:51:48
Everybody should be doing this.
1:51:50
I have to say they're not when they're in the shelters.
1:51:52
Everybody should get a library card.
1:51:54
They don't get a library card.
1:51:55
They do get the municipal ID.
1:51:56
These people all have working papers, by the way.
1:51:59
So, if there's a little bit of a disconnect, I want 43,300 people to stay in New York City.
1:52:07
I don't want them to go to Minnesota, Texas, wherever they go.
1:52:10
I want them to stay here.
1:52:11
You already put in 7,000,000,000.
1:52:13
You might as well get your money out of the 43.
1:52:15
There's jobs.
1:52:16
They're unbelievably fabulous people as we know.
1:52:19
So I I don't know.
1:52:20
I'm I'm feeling a little bit of a dis those services are there.
1:52:23
You're already paying for them.
1:52:25
And they have vacancies.
1:52:26
And they can help.
1:52:28
So I'm just wondering what's the what's going on with this even though you have I know about 40 Ninth Street.
1:52:33
I think I know all your services.
1:52:34
By the way, the material about know your rights is excellent.
1:52:37
It's a different discussion about what the feds do.
1:52:40
But what are we doing about the keeping the 43000 here with some of these services?
1:52:44
I could go I could go to the one what is that?
1:52:47
17%?
1:52:48
I could get them all library card.
1:52:49
Personally, I could get them all signed up for workforce one, but somebody else should be doing that.
1:52:54
And I've just done it for 30 people.
Sarah Nolan
1:52:56
Personally, Gail.
1:52:58
And thank you for that.
Gale Brewer
1:52:59
Know, but I'm just saying somebody else can do it too.
Molly Schaefer
1:53:01
I know.
1:53:02
And I think that there is, obviously more work to do, and I'm happy to sit down on any specific programs.
1:53:08
I think we really tried to focus on young adults, so people under
Alexa Avilés
1:53:11
the age of 24
Sarah Nolan
1:53:12
I am for SIG.
Gale Brewer
1:53:13
Young adults over I
Molly Schaefer
1:53:14
know.
1:53:15
And so we're really trying to get people who are eligible for SIG to apply for SIG through our AHC.
1:53:20
Think we've been working with district seventy nine.
1:53:22
We need to make better connections, but we really have been trying there.
1:53:25
And I think with Bruckner in particular and some other bigger sites,
Gale Brewer
1:53:28
we can be That's what I'm saying.
1:53:29
Every single person at Bruckner should have all of this now.
Molly Schaefer
1:53:32
Yeah.
1:53:33
We're happy to continue working on that.
1:53:34
I think part of that's part of the job of case management and making sure they have those resources and know who to connect to.
1:53:40
So I agree with you 100%.
Gale Brewer
1:53:41
Okay.
1:53:42
And then guardianship program, can every city employee be a guardian?
Molly Schaefer
1:53:45
So we're gonna look into that.
1:53:47
I think one, they also need to apply for sig.
1:53:49
It's not just being a guardian, but happy to work on that and look into it and make sure that if there are ways to expand that, that we do.
Gale Brewer
1:53:58
I got 30 of them.
Molly Schaefer
1:53:59
Which is great.
Gale Brewer
1:54:00
Okay.
1:54:00
And then the other question is how many raids have taken place in the city of New York?
1:54:05
Do you know?
1:54:06
How many sorry.
1:54:06
What?
1:54:07
Raids, r a I d s, by ICE.
Molly Schaefer
1:54:09
Raids.
1:54:10
I can't speak to that number.
1:54:13
I don't know.
1:54:13
But you'd have to ask ICE that in particular.
Gale Brewer
1:54:15
So ICE is the only one that would know?
Molly Schaefer
1:54:17
The federal government.
1:54:18
I don't know who in the federal government, but someone in the federal government would know what their exact numbers are.
Gale Brewer
1:54:23
Correct?
1:54:23
Alright.
1:54:24
Thank you.
Alexa Avilés
1:54:27
Thank you, council member Ruhr.
1:54:29
Council member Hanif.
1:54:31
Thank you.