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<div id="gmail-theArticleHead" class="gmail-theArticleHead"><h1>City releases first-ever report on inclusion</h1>
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<div class="gmail-byline">By Prem Calvin Prashad</div>
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<p>The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs released its first ever
annual report in March detailing efforts in 2017 to in the report’s
words integrate immigrant New Yorkers into the city’s “civic, economic
and cultural life.”</p>
<p> Some 3.1 million New Yorkers are immigrants, of whom approximately
560,000 are undocumented, according to the office. Most notably, the
office estimates one million immigrant New Yorkers are in “mixed-status”
households, where someone in the family is undocumented.</p>
<p>Under the de Blasio administration, the office has identified three
priorities – the integration of immigrants, facilitating access to
justice and advocating reform to address inequities.</p><div class="gmail-bureauAd gmail-bureauAdFilled_embedded"><div class="embedded gmail-simpleAd"><a id="gmail-adLink__9484" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.timesledger.com/assets/scripts/putclick.x?c=5467&ad=9484&slot=embedded&type=campaign&pub=queens&redir=https%3A%2F%2Fsacredheartbayside.org%2Fsummer-camps" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.timesledger.com/assets/ads/2018_05_22_shcabayside_158592_200x320.jpg" alt="Sacred Heart Catholic Academy" width="200" height="320"></a> </div></div>
<p>Among the other notable demographic findings, the report said over
half of all New Yorkers – regardless of immigration status are
“rent-burdened” (spending 30 percent of their income or more on rent).
Prevalence of household overcrowding (more than 1.5 persons per room)
was significantly higher for green card holders and undocumented persons
alike. Immigrants now comprise 45 percent of New York City’s
workforce, 25 percent of whom work in Health, Education or Human
Services. More than half - 52 percent of businesses in the city - are
owned by immigrants.</p>
<p>Efforts at language inclusion are a longstanding policy item at City
Hall, spanning administrations. After the implementation of full
translation of six key languages under the Bloomberg administration,
subsequent efforts at language inclusion have tried to bridge gaps and
adapt to changing circumstances. The 2017 Local Law 30 added Arabic,
Urdu, Polish and French to the list of required languages. In response
to current events, such as the recent cancellation of TPS for Nepali
immigrants, has spurred the office to adopt Nepali translation of its
materials. The report itself will be translated into 10 languages,
mandated by Local Law 30, which covers 86 percent of limited English
proficiency residents, according to the office.</p>
<p>Specifically, the office runs the We Are New York English language
learning program, which in 2017 organized 182 classes and produced a
series of educational videos to cover critical issues such as mental
health and worker’s rights, while also building proficiency. The office
has coordinated town halls and Know Your Rights forums to engage
communities in the city, having provided 740 such forums in 2017.</p>
<p>Of more recent policy moves, the report touted the office’s
partnership with Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence, the Mayor’s
Office of Criminal Justice and law enforcement to support immigrant
victims of crime, including securing U and T visas, which provide relief
for victims of trafficking and for victims that have suffered
substantial mental and physical abuse, respectively. City agencies
provided 709 certifications from law enforcement for individuals
applying for these protections. Another partnership, Action NYC, which
provides legal services for immigration issues, provided 8,004 legal
screenings, last year.</p>
<p>Lastly, the report noted that in response to the federal government’s
focus on immigration enforcement, the city has enhanced its
partnerships with other municipalities where immigrants live. The
Cities for Action advocates for federal policies, such as the Deferred
Action for Childhood Arrivals and also files amicus briefs challenging
Trump administration actions in court. According to the office, there
are approximately 150,000 DACA-eligible persons living in the city. </p>
<p>The report also cites federal efforts to “defund jurisdictions which
limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement” as another
reason for this inter-city cooperation. Arguably federal immigration
policy has repositioned municipalities, especially large cities in an
adversarial relationship with the federal government, with cities turned
into the key defender against the federal government. This is
reflected at the end of the report, which concluded with the office’s
priorities for the current year. Aside from continuing civic engagement
and utilizing evaluation to study current efforts, the office plans to
advocate for the city’s interests at the national level, though its
partnerships.</p>
<br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
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