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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Lauren Migliaccio, Training and Legal Technical Assistance Director of Immigrant Justice Corps
5:14:26
·
113 sec
Lauren Migliaccio from Immigrant Justice Corps testifies about the impact of federal funding cuts on legal services for unaccompanied immigrant children in New York City. She urges the city council to take action to ensure representation for these vulnerable minors.
- Federal government terminated a contract on 03/21/2025, leaving 26,000 children without funding for legal services
- In fiscal year 2024, 3,475 children were released from the Office of Refugee Resettlement to New York City
- Legal service providers in NYC are facing layoffs, paused intakes, and turning children away due to lack of funding
Lauren Migliaccio
5:14:26
Good afternoon and thank you chairs Brennan and Aviles.
5:14:29
My name is Lauren Miliacho.
5:14:31
I am the training and legal technical assistance director of the Immigrant Justice Corps, which is the first in the nation to place legal fellows and legal non service immigration providers.
5:14:42
Since my most esteemed co panelists today have covered a lot of what I was going to speak about for New York's most vulnerable populations, I would like to first address your opening remarks, Chair Abules, and put some numbers here that I think can shed a little light on why this is so important.
5:15:00
IJC currently has 19 fellows serving this community, but that is funding that is dependent on the federal government.
5:15:08
And on 03/21/2025, the federal government did terminate that contract, leaving many children, 26,000 exactly, without funding for legal service.
5:15:23
There has been a deep impact on the legal service providers here in New York City.
5:15:27
Many organizations have looked to layoffs, have paused intakes, and have turned children away for representation.
5:15:36
Eliminating federal funding will leave thousands of children without counsel, and specifically here in New York City in fiscal year twenty four, '3 thousand '4 hundred and '70 '5 children were released from the Office of Refugee Resettlement to New York City.
5:15:52
That is a number of children that will be facing gaps and instability in legal service representation.
5:16:02
The looming federal cuts just leave a gaping hole for no safety net left in these children, and we do urge city council to take action and ensure that no child centered representation is left and that every unaccompanied minor will be represented in New York.