Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Sierra Kraft, Executive Director of ICARE Coalition, on Unaccompanied Immigrant Children Legal Services Funding
4:54:38
·
147 sec
Sierra Kraft, Executive Director of ICARE Coalition, testifies about the urgent crisis in legal representation for unaccompanied immigrant children due to the abrupt termination of federal funding. She requests additional city funding to stabilize and expand the Unaccompanied Minors and Families Initiative (UMFI) program.
- Federal government terminated a $14 million contract for unaccompanied children program, leaving 1,300 children without legal representation
- Legal representation is crucial for preventing homelessness and ensuring children can secure lawful status and remain with family or sponsors
- ICARE requests $6.3 million in discretionary funding for UMFI and $5.4 million in emergency funding to offset the federal funding loss
Sierra Kraft
4:54:38
Hi.
4:54:39
Good afternoon chair Brennan and deputy speaker Ayala and members of the committees on finance and general welfare.
4:54:44
Thank you for inviting testimony.
4:54:46
My name is Sierra Craft, and I'm the executive director of the iCare Coalition, a citywide network of legal service providers that for over a decade have ensured unaccompanied immigrant children in New York City have access to free high quality legal representation.
4:55:00
This year, we're in a moment of urgent crisis.
4:55:03
On March 21, the federal government abruptly terminated the unaccompanied children program contract, wiping out nearly $14,000,000 in funding for legal service providers, and 1,300 children lost their attorney overnight.
4:55:16
These are kids, some as young as toddlers, who have fled violence, trafficking, and family separation only to face a complex immigration system without legal representation.
4:55:26
And access to legal representation is a key form of homelessness prevention, ensuring that immigrant children can secure lawful status and remain safely with family or sponsors rather than falling into systems of instability.
4:55:39
Without an attorney, a child's chance of staying safely in The US drops to less than fifteen percent.
4:55:44
And with an eye care attorney, that chance rises to over ninety percent.
4:55:48
This federal funding collapse is having a devastating ripple effect and is destabilizing our legal ecosystem that we've built over the last decade.
4:55:57
Several of our legal service providers have had to do layoffs, freeze their intakes and lose expert attorneys.
4:56:03
These attorneys and organizations have built trusted culturally responsive relationships with families and communities we serve, particularly in Brooklyn, Queens and The Bronx where most unaccompanied children live in New York City.
4:56:15
Meanwhile, children are still being scheduled for hearings.
4:56:18
Their cases are moving forward expeditiously, not understanding their rights.
4:56:22
No voice in court and no protection.
4:56:25
The city council's longstanding support through the unaccompanied minors and families initiative has been essential, but funding has remained stagnant for more than six years.
4:56:33
And while UMFI has helped providers shift some of the cases and respond quickly, it's
Molly Wasow Park
4:56:40
just not enough to
Diana I. Ayala
4:56:40
meet the growing
Sierra Kraft
4:56:41
need or offset
Yusef Salaam
4:56:42
the damage.
4:56:43
Thank This
Sierra Kraft
4:56:46
this is why we're requesting $6,300,000 in discretionary funding to help stabilize UMFI and 5,400,000.0 in emergency funding to help shield us from this federal termination of the UCP contract.
4:57:00
Happy to answer any questions, and thank you for your time and commit continued commitment to the immigrant youth in our city.