n February
11th, the Committee on Immigration, chaired by Council Member
Kendall Stewart, held an oversight hearing to receive testimony about
issues of concern to immigrants in New York City.
Almost half of the nearly three-hour hearing was devoted to testimony
provided by Sayu Bhojwani, the Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs from
the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA), which was formed to
facilitate cooperation and communication between immigrant communities
and City agencies. This is crucial since 36% of the City’s residents are
foreign-born, nearly 50% speak a language other than English at home,
and approximately 60% of New Yorkers are immigrants or the children of
immigrants.
Bhojwani explained some of the nuts and bolts of MOIA’s actions since
it was put in place by referendum in the City’s Charter in 2001.
She stated that the commission has three main functions. The first is to
advise the Mayor on the impact of city, state and federal policies on
the City’s immigrants. Second, it consults with City agencies on their
methods of outreach and service delivery to immigrant communities. The
third is to serve as a mediator for immigrants and community groups
seeking assistance in navigating government agencies.
According to Bhojwani, one of the commission’s largest initiatives
has been the establishment of 3-1-1 as a centralized phone number that
New Yorkers can call in over 170 languages to access government
services. Last year her office responded to 8,000 telephone inquiries,
and 2,165 items of correspondence related to immigration issues. They
also advocated for nearly 1,000 individuals with U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services (CIS) and other government agencies on immigration
matters, and successfully resolved nearly half of those cases.
After
Bhojwani’s formal statement, there followed a long period of questioning
of her by the Immigration Committee, which consists of Council Members
Kendall Stewart, Annabel Palma, Miguel Martinez, Charles Barron and
Lewis Fidler. Council Members Yvette Clarke and Bill de Blasio and
Deputy Majority Leader Bill Perkins participated as well.
They covered many subjects from school lunches for the children of
the undocumented, to hiring halls for day laborers, to the rights of the
foreign-born incarcerated. When they were finished, Bhohwani thanked the
committee for inviting her, stating that through this hearing she has a
clearer idea of their concerns.
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Later
in the hearing, powerful testimony was presented by Udi Ofer, attorney
with the New York Civil Liberties Union, and Atty. Jeffrey Fogel, Legal
Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights. They both laid bare
the injustice that the Arab, Muslim and South Asian communities have
been subjected to since 9/11 due to the government’s over-the-top
antiterrorism initiatives. They described, for example, how, in the
period following September 11th, federal agents rounded up
hundreds if not thousands of men from these communities and held them
for weeks without charges, in solitary confinement, and as direct
suspects of the World Trade Center attacks based principally or solely
on their religion, ethnicity or national origin. All were cleared of
terrorism charges, but yet were held for months for minor civil
violations of immigration laws, such as not filing a change of address
with 10 days.
The attorneys told, too, about three Middle Eastern men who where
stopped in Manhattan for a traffic violation. The men were arrested
after officers searched their car and found construction plans for a
public school. The next day the men’s employer confirmed their
employment at the school and told federal authorities that it was
appropriate for the men to possess the school plans. Nevertheless, the
men were detained and subjected to prolonged detention and treatment as
direct suspects of the 9/11 attack.
This often hair-raising testimony was backed up by the next
panelists, Subhash Kateel from Families for Freedom and A. Sheila Mirza
and B. Rishi Singh from Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM), both
community-based organizations for immigrants at risk of deportation.
They, too, gave specific examples of what immigrant youth are being
subjected to and explained that while people in the South Asian, Arab
and Muslim communities can be apprehended with ease, it is nearly
impossible for them to access any legal information while in custody.
The committee also heard from representatives of community
organizations such as the New York Association for New Americans, Inc.,
Asian Americans for Equality and Chinatown CAAAV: Organizing Asian
Communities. Their spokespersons brought up other vital issues facing
immigrants as they seek to achieve economic self-sufficiency, social
integration and, in some cases, naturalization as quickly as possible.
Council Member Stewart concluded the hearing by thanking everyone for
their statements, which he said the Immigration Committee will be taking
very seriously. He also stated that the committee will soon be holding
additional hearings on Bush’s proposed temporary guest worker program,
and joint hearings with the committees on health and higher education.
You can contact his district office at (718) 951-8177 for further
information.
