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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Sierra Kraft, Executive Director of ICARE Coalition
3:12:10
·
3 min
Sierra Kraft, Executive Director of ICARE Coalition, testified about the devastating impact of federal funding cuts on legal services for unaccompanied immigrant children in New York City. She emphasized the urgent need for emergency funding to ensure these children have access to legal representation in their immigration cases.
- Over 1,100 children in NYC lost legal access services overnight due to the termination of the federal unaccompanied children program.
- The funding cuts amount to about $14 million for legal service providers in NYC, affecting nearly 8,000 children.
- Without an attorney, the chance of these children remaining safely in the US drops from over 90% to below 15%.
Sierra Kraft
3:12:10
Hi.
3:12:10
Good afternoon, chair Ressler and chair Brannan.
3:12:13
Thank you for holding this oversight hearing and the opportunity to provide testimony.
3:12:17
My name is Sierra Kraft and I'm the executive director of the Eye Care Coalition.
3:12:21
We're a citywide collaborative of legal service providers working to ensure that unaccompanied immigrant children in New York City have access to free legal representation.
3:12:29
I'm here to speak about the devastating fallout from the near total termination of the federal unaccompanied children program.
3:12:35
Almost all of the federal support for legal screenings, representation, and court support for unaccompanied children in ORR custody was eliminated.
3:12:43
And the consequences here in New York are immediate, severe, and still unfolding.
3:12:48
In New York City alone, that's more than 1,100 children with open immigration cases that lost legal access services overnight.
3:12:56
These are young people who already are living in our communities, attending school, rebuilding their lives, and trying to recover from the trauma they've experienced.
3:13:05
Most are living in Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx, and now they're being forced through complex deportation proceedings without a lawyer, often without understanding what's being asked of them.
3:13:15
So statewide, the cuts amount to nearly $18,000,000 lost in funding.
3:13:20
And in New York City specifically, that is about $14,000,000 to legal service providers.
3:13:26
The funding supported more than 26,000 children nationally and nearly 8,000 here in New York City.
3:13:34
And many of these organizations have spent decades doing the work, building trust and expertise, and some of the providers have already, begun staff layoffs.
3:13:43
Others are still struggling to decide whether they can keep the programs running at all.
3:13:47
And even with no funding, many providers are still representing children because ethically, they can't just walk away from these children.
3:13:54
Staff are working around the clock and supporting cases pro bono, but it's definitely not sustainable.
3:14:00
The legal ecosystem that's been established is gonna be dismantled if we don't act.
3:14:05
And all of this is happening as the climate for immigrant youth is continuing to grow more hostile.
3:14:10
Children are telling us they no longer feel safe.
3:14:13
They've become enforcement priorities under the new federal guidance, and ICE is conducting home visits and what they call wellness checks at sponsor homes across the city.
3:14:23
We can't normalize this, and we can't keep keep expecting frontline providers to show shoulder this burden with no funding, no relief, and no plan.
3:14:31
These kids are being sent back to danger not because they don't qualify for protection, but we failed to give them access to legal support that could save their lives.
3:14:40
Without an attorney, their chance of remaining safely in The US is over ninety percent.
3:14:44
And without one, that drops below fifteen percent.
3:14:48
These are our kids.
3:14:49
They're living in our neighborhoods, and they're New York's responsibility, and we're failing them if we don't act.
3:14:55
We can't wait for someone else to fix this, so we are urging council to provide emergency funding now and to increase support for eye care providers through the unaccompanied minors and families initiatives.
3:15:06
Our request is 6,297,000.000, and this funding is essential to stabilize the city's legal legal services and to ensure immigrant children don't fall through the cracks.
3:15:17
This isn't just about legal access.
3:15:19
It's about dignity, safety, and stability.
3:15:22
Thank you for your time and leadership.