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Q&A
Impact of federal funding cuts on Catholic Charities Legal Services
1:08:14
·
161 sec
Council Member Lincoln Restler inquires about the impact of $5,750,000 in federal cuts to Catholic Charities Legal Services. Joseph Rosenberg from Catholic Community Relations Council responds, detailing the devastating effects on their ability to provide legal representation to immigrants.
- The cuts affect various programs, including assistance for unaccompanied minors and staffing at immigration courts.
- Over 600 unaccompanied minors and 14,000 immigrants receive services through these programs.
- Despite funding loss, the organization is trying to find alternative ways to continue providing services.
Lincoln Restler
1:08:14
Thank you very much to the panel.
1:08:16
I just had two brief questions.
1:08:20
For mister Rosenberg, you mentioned, I think it was $5,750,000 in federal cuts in your testimony to Catholic Charities Legal Services.
1:08:32
Could you just speak to the scale of that cut as a percentage of the total budget?
1:08:38
Is that leading to layoffs?
1:08:40
Obviously, with the heightened actions, dangerous illegal actions by ICE, there's a greater need for legal services now than ever.
1:08:51
What has been the impact day to day for Catholic charities and your ability to support immigrant communities?
Joseph Rosenberg
1:08:56
Well, this is a devastating hit.
1:08:58
And one of the things that's most confusing about it is that it changes by the day.
1:09:03
Sometimes contracts are terminated, sometimes they're revised.
1:09:09
Like for instance, the loss of the 4,300,000.0 to assist legal services for accompanied minors.
1:09:19
There's another 1,400,000 in that contract, which after some negotiations, won't be terminated for another six months, but that might be changed as well.
1:09:28
So we're in flux.
1:09:29
I don't have the specific totals of the amount of federal funding, but it is overwhelmingly what we rely upon for legal representation.
1:09:39
Just as an example, us getting away from fiscal numbers, the the number of unaccompanied minors that have legal representation through this program, through Catholic charities, is is over 600.
1:09:52
And there are over 14,000 undocumented and documented immigrants who receive consultations, pro se assistance, and other things.
1:10:02
We also have the desks that are staffed at the three immigration courts in New York City that is exclusively, relied upon federal funding.
1:10:16
That too has been terminated.
1:10:17
So this is just a partial list of what we're facing.
1:10:20
No doubt there will be many more in a week or two, but this is something that's important to say.
1:10:27
The mission of the Catholic church is to provide funding and assistance for those who need it.
1:10:34
So right now, despite the loss of funding, we're going to try to find ways, whether it's through donations, moving funds in other directions to try to continue this.
1:10:47
Once people have representation, it's not like they can just all of a sudden lose their attorneys.
1:10:52
That is just unacceptable for anyone, including us.