Wednesday, March 25, 2026, 12:30 p.m. (New York City time), 250 Broadway - 8th Floor - Hearing Room 3
Committee: Committee on Immigration
The Committee on Immigration held a preliminary budget hearing for fiscal year 2027, examining the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) budget and immigrant services across the city. The chair and council members questioned MOIA Commissioner Faiza Ali and her team about staffing levels, legal services funding, English language learning programs, sanctuary city enforcement, and interagency coordination. The committee heard testimony from former Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and numerous advocacy organizations, legal service providers, and immigrant workers requesting continued and expanded funding for immigration legal services, adult literacy, and worker protections.
0:11 You oh , good afternoon and
0:11 welcome to today's New York
0:14 City Council hearing on the
0:17 committee on immigration at
0:18 this time please silence all
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5:43 good afternoon and thank you
5:44 all for being here today I am
5:48 councilmember lcn kanaan chair
5:49 of the committee on
5:51 immigration welcome to today's
5:52 begin I would like to thankl
5:58 those who have joined us and
6:00 acknowledge that I am here by
6:03 Council Member thank you for
6:06 hundreds of years emigration
6:08 has and will continue to be a
6:10 fundamental aspect of New York
6:11 City life nearly 40% of our
6:14 cities population is foreign
6:17 born this includes those who
6:18 have had the opportunity t
6:20 onaturalize and become s
6:22 citizens and those who have
6:24 not emigrants play an
6:26 essential role in our local
6:28 economy and they have a
6:30 similar workforce force
6:31 participation rate to us born
6:33 residents the institute on
6:35 taxation and economic policy.
6:37 Reported that in 20 22
6:41 undocumented immigrants paid
6:44 in u s taxes in New York alone d
6:51 in taxes to fund our state's
6:54 public infrastructure and
6:56 services the contribution for
6:57 all of our immigrants totaled
6:59 a much higher revenue and it
7:01 is no surprise to us that
7:03 immigrants continue to power
7:05 our City.
7:06 Our emigrant neighbors have
7:08 also experience grave need in
7:09 recent years in spring 20 20
7:13 to tens of thousands of asylum
7:15 seekers adults as well as
7:17 families with children fled
7:19 dire conditions in their home
7:21 countries and arrived to New
7:22 York City the City underwent a
7:25 crisis response to support the
7:26 influx of New arrivals and as
7:29 the number of newcomers has
7:31 studied the City has been
7:33 reducing the emergency
7:34 operations it created at this
7:35 time at the start of 20 25
7:39 immigrant communities were met
7:40 . With a federal
7:43 administration that
7:44 aggressively prioritize a
7:46 deportation agenda for both
7:48 New and long term immigrants
7:50 in 20 25 New York City
7:53 experienced an increase in ice
7:56 enforcement activities across
7:59 immigrant neighborhoods
7:59 including a surge in ice
8:00 arrests at 26 federal plaza
8:03 targeting immigrant New York
8:04 er's during check ins an
8:06 immigrant court
8:07 . Proceedings in January 2026
8:10 the documented reported that
8:12 streets arrest in New York
8:13 City grew by 212% two over
8:18 3000 in the first six months
8:20 of the trump administration at
8:22 today's hearing the committee
8:23 will examine the fiscal 20 27
8:28 preliminary budget and
8:28 evaluate how the budget
8:31 prioritizes immigrant services
8:31 and how the City intends t
8:34 omaintain and expand on last
8:37 year's investments in
8:39 immigrant programs we will be
8:40 asking the mayor's office of
8:41 immigrant affairs you will
8:42 hear me refer to them as moya
8:46 for accountability
8:47 transparency and action we
8:48 will examine moya's
8:49 collaboration with other City
8:51 agencies and how that office
8:52 carries out its roles and
8:55 responsibilities we will go
8:56 over the various programs that
8:59 moya managers including the
9:01 funding levels and number of
9:03 individuals served and we'll
9:04 get a better understanding of
9:06 the New and emerging needs of
9:08 our most vulnerable New
9:11 yorkers moya is the backbone
9:12 of immigrant services in the
9:14 City however this office is
9:16 currently operating with an
9:19 unacceptably low head count
9:20 and the current preliminary
9:22 plan moya's budget totals 782
9:25 a thousand out $782000 t
9:28 ocover five staff positions
9:30 moya's budget under the
9:32 mayoralty does not provide a
9:34 full picture as the office
9:36 coordinates and collaborates
9:37 with other City agencies t
9:40 omanage moyer programs within
9:41 their agencies and their
9:44 budgets including h r dike h
9:45 and h and cutie
9:47 . How can we expect an office
9:49 to meet our immigrant
9:51 communities growing needs when
9:53 it lacks sufficient
9:54 centralized personnel to do
9:55 the job it is now more
9:57 important than ever that we
9:58 take the time to strengthen
10:00 and expand our city's
10:01 infrastructure to support
10:02 immigrants for the years t
10:04 ocome as chair of the
10:06 immigration committee I am
10:08 encouraging and moya to work
10:11 towards creating a dedicated
10:12 City agency for immigrant
10:15 affairs I also want to take
10:16 the opportunity to say that
10:17 the committee and I are
10:18 looking forward to hearing
10:19 from advocates and the
10:21 community during today's
10:23 public comment period given
10:24 the limited time we have I
10:25 encourage you please focus
10:27 your oral testimony on the
10:30 community and budgetary needs
10:30 and know that we will review
10:32 your test your written
10:35 testimony to understand the
10:35 full breath of work your
10:37 organization does after the
10:39 hearing lastly I would like t
10:40 othank the committee staff the
10:43 dream team here florentine cob
10:45 or navy beans nicole cotta
10:47 rebecca beria as well as my
10:49 staff stephanie herrera and
10:51 adam bernstein for their
10:52 commitment and hard work and
10:53 as always the amazing sergeant
10:56 at arms that help us get
10:56 through the day before we hear
10:59 from faisali the commissioner
11:01 of the mayor's office of
11:02 immigrant affairs in her team
11:05 the committee counsel will
11:05 swear you in thank you chair
11:07 we will now hear testimony
11:10 from the administration we
11:11 will hear from uea
11:12 commissioner faiza ali as well
11:14 as lorena lucero and jazz niya
11:16 Sanchez before we begin I will
11:18 administer the affirmation
11:19 panelist please raise your
11:20 right hand
11:20 . Do you affirm to tell the
11:21 truth the whole truth and
11:22 nothing but the truth before
11:23 this committee and to respond
11:25 honestly to Council Member
11:26 questions thank you begin when
11:30 ready.
11:30 Good afternoon thank you t
11:31 ochair in carney the
11:34 immigration committee as well
11:35 as chairs Lee and deputy
11:37 speaker natasha Williams who I
11:40 know are diligently across the
11:41 street talking to our
11:44 colleagues at I also want t
11:45 oextend my thanks and gratitude
11:46 to the committee on finance
11:48 for the opportunity to testify
11:51 today my name is feisal ali
11:52 and I am the New commissioner
11:53 for the New York City mayor's
11:54 office of immigrant affairs or
11:57 moya I'm joined today by
11:59 lorena lucero deputy
12:00 commissioner of program and
12:01 policy as well as my colleague
12:04 jazz nia Sanchez acting chief
12:05 of staff and deputy
12:07 commissioner of immigration
12:08 and strategic initiatives
12:10 . As a proud daughter of
12:11 immigrants from assad kashmir
12:14 pakistan my intersecting
12:15 identities have shaped how I
12:17 think about the role of
12:18 government and the
12:21 responsibility it carries t
12:22 oserve every community in this
12:24 City fairly and with dignity
12:26 . As immigration and customs
12:29 enforcement has sowed fear and
12:30 chaos and diversity in diverse
12:33 cities across the country I
12:34 want to make clear that New
12:35 York City remains committed t
12:37 othe protection of all New York
12:40 er's regardless of immigration
12:42 status
12:42 . But this moment requires
12:43 more than words
12:45 . It also requires local
12:46 government to provide us with
12:47 a budget.
12:49 Operational capacity and
12:51 support that help us meet this
12:53 goal for today's testimony I
12:54 work that include immigrationn
13:00 legal services moya
13:02 immigration legal support
13:03 hotline our rapid response
13:05 legal collaborative language
13:06 access and community
13:09 engagement programs.
13:10 We have all watched some of
13:11 us in shock or disbelief as an
13:14 aggressive and indiscriminate
13:16 detention and deportation
13:17 campaign played out on our
13:19 screens over the last 1
13:21 4months we've seen horrific
13:23 reality of that agenda routine
13:25 immigration court dates now
13:26 often result in arrests by
13:29 masked agents waiting outside
13:30 of courtroom doors temporary
13:32 protected status and other
13:34 pathways for dignity and work
13:36 authorization have been closed
13:38 off without taking into
13:39 account the dangerous
13:40 conditions that precipitated
13:42 the arrival of people to our
13:43 country in the first place ice
13:46 is being deployed to qualified
13:48 speech with its officers
13:50 launching indiscriminate rates
13:51 like those that are targeted
13:53 are street vendors on canal
13:54 street just this past the
13:56 color of someone's skin the
13:58 language that they speak and
14:00 the religion that they
14:01 practice have been
14:02 justifications for arrest and
14:04 detainment our immigrant
14:06 communities and local
14:07 economies are suffering from
14:09 these inhumane actions many of
14:10 our neighbors worry about
14:12 taking the subway to work or
14:15 to school the usual they
14:16 usually bustling streets of
14:17 the some of our most vibrant
14:19 neighborhoods are eerily quiet
14:21 students in our public school
14:22 system see the empty in their
14:24 classroom and worry whether or
14:25 not they will be next given
14:29 this moment immigrant
14:32 communities need reassurances
14:32 that City government will
14:34 protect them Mayor mamdani was
14:35 elected by New York er's in
14:37 part to address the growing
14:40 apprehension and anxiety among
14:42 immigrants regarding their
14:43 place in our society it is our
14:45 mission to affirm our city's
14:48 support to rebuild public
14:50 trust and ensure continued
14:52 access to schools health care
14:53 housing and City services New
14:56 York City is powered by
14:58 immigrants through this
15:00 through this year's City
15:01 budget we have the opportunity
15:03 to show that we will protect
15:04 and prioritize our immigrant
15:07 communities by investing in
15:09 services and the support that
15:11 they deserve
15:11 . Moya's City charter mandate
15:13 is to serve immigrants and non
15:14 english speaking New York er's
15:16 by developing and implementing
15:18 policies designed to assis
15:20 tthem a responsibility we
15:22 maintain and remain steadfast
15:24 and fulfilling my team which
15:26 is currently resourced with a
15:27 budget of approximately $42.3
15:30 million for fy 26 will
15:31 continue to go above and
15:33 beyond to elevate the needs of
15:36 immigrant communities we
15:37 currently have more than 7
15:39 0contracts with nonprofit
15:41 organizations many of whom are
15:42 in this room today that
15:44 service and immigrant
15:45 immigrant the City given the
15:48 recent rise in ice activity
15:49 moya has stepped up to provide
15:51 more investment in legal
15:53 immigration services than ever
15:54 before over the past year moya
15:56 has risen to the challenge t
15:59 ostrengthen our legal
16:00 infrastructure during this
16:00 time of greatly increased need l
16:04 programs include immigration
16:05 legal support centers the
16:08 legal support hotline the moya
16:11 legal technical mentorship
16:12 program and a rapid response
16:14 legal collaborative together
16:16 these programs and initiatives
16:18 expand access to immigration
16:20 legal support which has
16:21 increasingly grown in demand
16:24 last summer we launched moya's
16:26 immigration legal support
16:28 center supported by more than
16:32 $18 million in investments
16:33 over three years to support up