City Council introduces bill to prevent the addition of smart chips to IDNYC cards
IDP has been part of a coalition that has been opposed to a proposal to add a smart chip to the IDNYC. Yesterday, NYC Councilman Carlos Menchaca introduced a bill to the New York City Council that "would prohibit the city from adding any information to the card that isn't already visible on the face of the ID. The city wouldn't be able to add any mechanism that transmits information to the card either." For more on the bill, check out this article from NY Daily News.
IDP's anti-surveillance advocacy is focused on minimizing opportunities for contact with the federal government and data collection. Earlier this year, Mizue Aizeki, IDP Deputy Director, testified before the New York City Council Committee on Immigration on the possible data-related dangers of adding a smart chip to IDNYC. Read her testimony here. Also, check out the sign-on letter sent by advocates across the city to the Mayor, in opposition to the addition of smart chips.
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Join us at FTP Presents: Show Up For the Immigrant Defense Project!
 On Sunday, October 6th, our friends from F*CK the Pietriarchy are hosting a concert to benefit IDP, featuring Nick Hakim, Active Bird Community, Sidney Gish, and Sad13! All proceeds will go to IDP, and will help us continue to fight back against the current era of unprecedented deportations. Click here for tickets and more information -- we hope to see you there!
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IDP releases new resources on Marijuana Decriminalization in New York!
On August 28, 2019, the marijuana decriminalization and expungement bill that passed in New York State earlier this year went into effect. Despite the changes to the law, people can still be arrested, charged, and fined for possessing a small amount of marijuana and these incidents may still lead to devastating immigration consequences. To try to dispel misconceptions and clarify the legal implications of this new law for immigrants, IDP has created a variety of new resources -- check them out here!
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IDP Trainings: Democratic Socialists of America
 On August 6, 2019, Senior Staff Attorney Genia Blaser gave a training organized by the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)'s immigration sub-committee and the Lower East Side Girls Club. Caracol Language Co-op provided simultaneous Spanish interpretation for the evening. The training, "Know Your Rights: ICE Raids," covered who could be at risk of ICE enforcement, trends of ICE arrests and detention in New York, and information on one's rights if approached by ICE at home or on the street. For more information on ICE raids, check out all of IDP's Know Your Rights materials here!
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#NoTechforICE!
 In late July, Mizue, IDP's Deputy Director, participated in #TakeBackTech: A People’s Summit for a Surveillance-Free Future in San Jose, CA, convened by Mijente, MediaJustice, and Tech Workers Coalition. People from around the country gathered to discuss strategies to fight back against the tech industry's role in expanding surveillance, war, incarceration, criminalization, and deportation. Mizue co-facilitated a workshop with Mijente on our collective report, Who's Behind ICE: The Tech and Data Companies Fueling Deportation, as well as a workshop on "Smart" Cities, highlighting the public/private partnerships that are rapidly expanding data collection and surveillance, with a focus on IDs that are available for undocumented people such as drivers licenses and the IDNYC. If you haven't checked out Who's Behind ICE yet, view it here.
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IDP Welcomes New Team Members!
 Terry Lawson joins IDP as a Supervising Policy Attorney where her work will focus on helping to develop and lead creative policy interventions to protect those at the intersection of immigration and the criminal legal system. Prior to joining IDP, Terry directed the Family and Immigration Unit of Bronx Legal Services, the Bronx program of Legal Services NYC, and represented survivors of intimate violence in family and immigration matters for over 10 years.
Jose Chapa joins  IDP as their Senior Policy Associate. His work will focus primarily on state policy, legislation, and advocacy, and will support IDP's greater local & federal advocacy work. Previously, Jose worked as the legislative campaign coordinator for the Justice for Farmworkers Campaign in New York State. In June 2019, after a twenty-year effort, the Justice for Farmworkers Campaign culminated in the passage of the Farmworker Fair Labor Practices Act.
 Brittany Castle joins IDP as an Equal Justice Works fellow. Her work will focus on litigation and advocacy challenging ICE’s detention practices, with a particular emphasis on healthcare conditions in detention. Prior to law school, Brittany worked with detained individuals in deportation proceedings as an accredited representative at Brooklyn Defender Services. Brittany graduated from NYU School of Law, where she gained federal court litigation experience as a student in the Immigrant Rights Clinic and the Advanced Immigrant Rights Clinic.
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