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Q&A
Discussion on citizenship eligibility and legal services for immigrants
2:17:22
·
93 sec
Council Member Restler inquires about the number of immigrants eligible for citizenship and the city's capacity to provide legal services for citizenship applications. Commissioner Castro provides estimates and Restler highlights the gap in services.
- Approximately 600,000 legal permanent residents in New York State may be eligible for citizenship
- Current city programs can serve tens of thousands of people per year for citizenship legal services
- Restler emphasizes that about 80% of eligible New Yorkers lack access to citizenship legal services
- The council member calls for a significant expansion of citizenship legal services
Lincoln Restler
2:17:22
I have one other question unless I is that okay?
2:17:25
Really fast.
2:17:28
Approximately how many New Yorkers, immigrant New Yorkers are eligible for citizen potentially eligible for citizenship?
2:17:38
And approximately how many people do we fund for legal services to support New Yorkers access to to apply for citizenship?
2:17:47
Could you just give us a broad strokes on those two?
Manuel Castro
2:17:50
Thank you.
2:17:50
And that's it's actually an important question.
2:17:52
I spoke to some of these earlier today.
2:17:54
I I broke down the the many different communities that are in need of legal services with respect to people who are under legal permanent resident status that could become or may become eligible for citizenship or naturalization.
2:18:10
I believe that New York State, the number is at about 600,000.
2:18:18
And through
Lincoln Restler
2:18:18
Puny citizenship now and the other limited opportunities we have, we can serve tens of thousands of people a year.
2:18:24
Is that approximately right?
2:18:26
That's right.
2:18:27
So just to underscore, at a time when we're so fear when we're rightly petrified of the mass deportation agenda that President Trump is bringing to our cities, 80% of New Yorkers do not have access to the citizenship legal services that they should be able to have access to that could keep them here safely.
2:18:47
And so I think a a just tremendous expansion of citizenship legal services is urgently needed.
2:18:52
Thank you, chair Aviles.
Alexa Avilés
2:18:53
Thank you.
2:18:54
Thank you.
2:18:54
Council member Brewer?