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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Cristobal Gutierrez, Lead Attorney at Make the Road New York and Commissioner at CORE, on Increasing Funding for CCHR
3:27:19
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Cristobal Gutierrez, representing Make the Road New York and the New York City Human Rights Law Working Group, testifies on the urgent need for increased funding for the Commission on Civil and Human Rights (CCHR). He emphasizes CCHR's critical role in protecting vulnerable populations, particularly transgender, non-binary, and undocumented individuals, who face limitations in seeking help from federal or state agencies.
- Highlights the importance of CCHR as the primary resource for undocumented and transgender workers facing discrimination
- Expresses concern over CCHR's underfunding and understaffing, citing a decade-old unresolved sexual assault case
- Mentions that detailed funding requests are included in the Human Rights Law Working Group's testimony
Cristobal Gutierrez
3:27:19
Okay.
3:27:19
Well, good afternoon.
3:27:25
My name is Cristobal Gutierrez.
3:27:27
I'm a staff attorney at Make the Road New York.
3:27:30
I'm also a commissioner at CORE.
3:27:34
My testimony will verse mainly on increased funding for CCHR.
3:27:40
I'm we're a part of the human rights law working group, New York City Human Rights Law Working Group, and we're, asking increased funding for CCHR mainly because we cannot go as of now if our clients are trans or non binary.
3:28:02
We cannot go to federal agencies, state agencies are in existent.
3:28:09
And if our clients are undocumented, we don't want them to go to a federal agency.
3:28:16
We've heard about how and this is all in my testimony.
3:28:20
We've heard how undocumented workers have been are being targeted at the internal revenue services to get their information.
3:28:33
We would never counsel our undocumented undocumented or or untrans workers who were told that the the EEOC told them that they were gonna remove gender identity as a priority and we can't just let them go to those federal agencies right now.
3:28:54
So the only solution that we have is the Commission on Human Rights.
3:28:59
And the Commission on Human Rights, as you as we have testified many, many, many times is extremely underfunded and understaffed.
3:29:13
We have a case that I name in in in our testimony about a woman who was sexually assaulted by her employer nearly ten years ago and the commission has still not found probable cause.
3:29:28
So with that the asks and requests that we have for the for this preliminary budget are included in our testimony and in every one of the working group's testimony.
3:29:46
So you can read it from there.