Century after century, generation after generation, one thing has always been true: Immigrants make New York City great. No question about it.

This is a city built by immigrants, John. Our rich history of welcoming new people is what makes NYC the dynamic and diverse place it is.

And as our Office reported earlier this year, immigrants strengthen our economy and comprise 43% of New York City’s workforce, and 40% of our population – that’s over 3 million people. Immigrant New Yorkers are more likely to be employed, are more likely to create jobs by starting a business, and contribute billions of dollars to New York’s economy. Immigrant workers are often more likely to be exploited as well.

Yesterday, I was proud to honor immigrant New Yorkers on National Immigrants Day in part by releasing our new Immigrant Workers Resource Guide.

This online informational tool includes a “Know Your Rights” overview, a sample timesheet, information on Deferred Action for Labor Enforcement (DALE), and a directory of local community-based organizations that support and empower immigrant workers.

We continued honoring National Immigrants Day at our Office’s celebration.

I want to thank Reverend Chloe Breyer, Deputy Mayor Anne Williams-Isom, Commissioner of the NYC Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) Manuel Castro, our panelists, and everyone who was able to join us. And a very special thank you to the New York organizations honored today who provide critical services to and advocate for new arrivals!

Comptroller Lander presents the American Council of Minority Women with a commendation.

Deputy Mayor Anne Williams-Isom delivers opening remarks.

Immigrants continue to come to New York City. Over 200,000 asylum seekers and migrants have made their way to New York since the spring of 2022. But the Adams Administration is not doing nearly enough to set them up for success.

Most new arrivals are pushed into a poorly managed shelter system with little or no case management or support to find permanent housing or jobs. City Hall’s mismanagement had asylum seekers in shelters for nearly a year before any coordinated effort was made to put people on a path towards work authorization.

And in a cruel and shortsighted effort to save money, Mayor Adams instituted 30 and 60-day shelter limits, evicting people from shelters, disrupting school for kids, and leading to missed mail and immigration court dates.

Calling the arrival of immigrants in New York City “a crisis” and evicting people while they apply to work authorization is a choice the Adams administration should have never made. Rather than shuffling new arrivals through broken City systems and deeper into instability, we should meet them with dignity and invest taxpayer dollars far more effectively in our city’s future.

As I wrote in an op-ed for El Diario, for generations, the federal government has coordinated with nonprofit resettlement organizations to provide refugees with case management and a pathway to housing, stable work, and education to seamlessly integrate into communities across the country. This network of care and coordination has allowed people to escape persecution and communities to benefit economically.

Upstate in Buffalo, for example, Jewish Family Services is providing 530 asylum seekers with the legal support, English-language classes, and job training and placement. Why aren’t we doing the same thing here?

Programs run by organizations like Hot Bread Kitchen and New Jewish Home could train new arrivals for jobs in hard-to-fill positions. Scaling up these models would save the City money over time, and help the newest New Yorkers get work authorization and jobs, putting them on a path to stability, and the potential to collectively earn over $470 million a year – generating new tax revenue in the process.

Immigrants deserve better. And New York City, the greatest city of immigrants the world has ever known, deserves better.

That is the history – and the future – of New York City.

In solidarity,

Brad

Office of the New York City Comptroller

Our mailing address is:
Office of New York City Comptroller Brad Lander
1 Centre Street
New York, NY 10007
United States

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