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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Airenakhue B. Omoragbon, New York Policy Manager at African Communities Together, on Language Access Funding
4:17:57
ยท
3 min
Airenakhue B. Omoragbon, representing African Communities Together, testified at the NYC Council Committee on Immigration budget hearing to advocate for the renewal of $3,800,000 in funding for the Interpreter Bank and New York's language services cooperatives. She highlighted the importance of language access initiatives in light of recent federal actions and emphasized the need for continued support to protect immigrant communities.
- Discussed the launch of Afrolingual, New York's first African worker-owned language collaborative
- Emphasized the critical nature of language access in emergency situations for communities with limited English proficiency
- Requested continued collaboration with the City Council on language access issues in FY '26 and beyond
Airenakhue B. Omoragbon
4:17:57
Hello can you hear me?
4:17:58
Yeah, alright.
4:17:59
So good afternoon Chair Villes, my name is Ayanakwe Omuragbon and I am the New York policy manager at African Communities Together.
4:18:08
Thank you for holding today's very important preliminary budget hearing.
4:18:12
As New York policy manager I support ACT's leadership in the Language Justice Collaborative and work with organizations like Massa, the Asian American Federation, Haitian American United for Progress, the Immigrant Advocates Response Collaborative, the New York Immigration Coalition to eliminate language and cultural barriers to New York immigrants access to public services.
4:18:35
We also work to create a pipeline to employment for New Yorkers trained in interpretation.
4:18:41
I'm here today to ask City Council to advocate for the renewal of $3,800,000 in funding for the Interpreter Bank and New York's language services cooperatives.
4:18:52
When it comes to enhancing and broadening New York City language access policy, African Communities Together is not new to this fight.
4:19:01
For a very long time we've been advocating for legislation mandating the translation of state and city services into multiple languages.
4:19:09
We launched Afrolingual which is New York's very first African worker owned language collaborative and we're months close to working with the collaborative to launch the first New York Community Interpreter Bank.
4:19:22
Last year thanks to your leadership and the support of your colleagues at the council, the collaborative was granted $3,800,000 We are extremely proud of
Lorena Lucero
4:19:31
the work we were able
Airenakhue B. Omoragbon
4:19:32
to do which included but, you know, but was not exclusive to partnering with the City University of New York, particularly Hostos to develop and launch a new sixty hour certification course for community interpreters.
4:19:47
As you and I both know, we are in unprecedented times and New York City is under attack.
4:19:54
Over the last one hundred years, I mean one hundred days, wow it feels like one hundred years, it's kind of crazy.
4:19:58
But over the last one hundred days, you know, President Trump, you know, has aimed at altering US long last long standing birthright citizenship policy.
4:20:11
As recent as five days ago President Trump signed an executive order designated English as the official language of The United States.
4:20:19
My big fear in response to this particular executive order is that in times of emergency African communities and other communities with limited English proficiency will be further isolated and vulnerable when it comes to accessing vital and critical services.
4:20:35
Renewing the language access grant and other initiatives pertaining to language access will help ACT and LJC elevate our efforts to provide support for legal services, improve rapid response efforts, and increase the critical community and know your rights trainings necessary to protect our communities in this season.
4:20:56
I would like to thank City Council for all of the work you all have been doing over the last year for empowering immigrant New Yorkers and our and your commitment to prioritizing language access and budget negotiations.
4:21:07
So we hope that we can continue to collaborate with you all on this important issue in FY '26 and years to come.
4:21:13
Thank you.