Stand Up for Immigrants' Rights in Court

IDP needs your help passing the Court Notification Act, a vital bill that would strengthen an immigrant's constitutional right to legal advice in court.

The Court Notification bill is so close to becoming law! The New York Senate has already passed it and we now just need the New York Assembly to bring the bill to a vote before the legislative session ends in just a couple weeks.

You can stand up for immigrants' rights by telling Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to bring Court Notification to a vote! Click here to send a message to your elected official today.

So many New Yorkers have no idea that taking a plea in criminal court can cause them to lose their green cards or face deportation. Even though New York law requires judges to notify immigrants of their right to legal advice, many judges give misleading or inaccurate notifications, or none at all.

Court Notification standardizes the notification language to prevent misinformation and confusion, and allows immigrants to be made whole if they are not given proper notification in violation of their rights. This follows the example of 15 other states that provide a remedy when notification is not given, which will help prevent unlawful deportation based on unfair and unknowing pleas.

You can learn more about how the Court Notification bill will fortify immigrants’ rights here.