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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Sierra Kraft, Executive Director of I Care Coalition
5:01:39
·
173 sec
Sierra Kraft, Executive Director of I Care Coalition, testifies about the urgent crisis facing unaccompanied immigrant children in New York City. She highlights the challenges these children face in accessing legal representation and navigating the complex immigration system, often alone and under increasing pressure from policies and systemic failures.
- Kraft details specific issues such as fast-tracked court dates, ICE "wellness checks", and new sponsor requirements that are separating families.
- She requests $6.3 million through the Unaccompanied Minors and Families Initiative (UMFI) to support legal services for over 2,000 children and families.
- An additional $5.4 million in emergency funding is requested to offset the loss of federal funding for these services.
Sierra Kraft
5:01:39
Good afternoon Chair Aviles, Chair Brannan, and members of the committees.
5:01:43
My name is Sierra Craft and I'm the executive director of the I Care Coalition, a citywide network of legal service providers that for over a decade have ensured that unaccompanied immigrant children in New York City have access to free legal representation.
5:01:56
Thank you for uplifting the needs of unaccompanied children throughout the hearing this morning.
5:02:01
We're in a moment of urgent crisis, one that is unfolding in real time and in plain sight.
5:02:07
Unaccompanied children are being targeted through harmful policies and systemic failures, and the consequences are playing out in our neighborhoods and courtrooms every day.
5:02:16
Children's dockets are being fast tracked.
5:02:18
Kids are receiving court dates before they've had a chance to find a lawyer.
5:02:22
ICE agents are conducting so called wellness checks at showing up at 6AM at children's homes asking probing questions even when their cases are already closed.
5:02:31
These visits are sowing fear and mistrust in communities that are already on edge.
5:02:36
New sponsor requirements like fingerprinting, background checks, and strict ID policies are keeping families apart.
5:02:42
We're watching family separation play out again here in New York City.
5:02:46
And recently, we had a young teen, a child just herself, who missed the hearing because she was giving birth during her her court hearing, but the judge ordered her removed anyway.
5:02:57
She didn't have a lawyer, she turned to us, but our providers are at capacity.
5:03:02
This is what it it looks like when due process is denied.
5:03:05
When children are forced to navigate one of the most complex legal systems in the country alone with everything at stake.
5:03:12
We should all be outraged.
5:03:15
At a moment when legal services the need for legal services is exploding, the safety net is collapsing.
5:03:21
Federal dollars are unstable and unpredictable, and the government is currently buying themselves some time to dismantle protections that would further endanger children and making it impossible for them to plan for an attorney.
5:03:34
Nonprofits can't plan like this.
5:03:36
Providers are having to lay off staff, freezing intakes, and turning children away.
5:03:41
City Council has long been a champion through the unaccompanied minors and family initiative, but funding hasn't increased in over six years despite the skyrocketing caseloads and rising costs, and the landscape is shifting by the day.
5:03:54
Today we're asking the city to meet the urgent need of this moment and that's why we're respectfully requesting 6,300,000.0 through UMFI to stabilize and sustain legal services across seven providers for 2,013 children and families, and also $5,400,000 in emergency funding to support the loss of federal funding.
5:04:15
New York's New York State turned its back on these kids in this year's budget, making the city's role even more critical.
5:04:21
We can't allow children, toddlers, and teenagers to be railroaded through a system they can't possibly navigate alone.
5:04:28
Thank you for your ongoing leadership, advocacy, and standing for young immigrant New Yorkers.