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In response to the seizure of $80 million in federal funds for New York City’s migrant response, the DOJ lawsuit against the State of New York, and Mayor Adams’s executive order for ICE to operate on Rikers Island, Shayna Kessler, director of the Advancing Universal Representation initiative at the Vera Institute of Justice, issued the following statement:

"New York’s immigrant communities and economy are under attack. The Trump administration's illegal seizure this week of $80 million meant to ensure access to safe and stable housing as part of New York City’s migrant response along with its lawsuit challenging the Green Light Law are direct assaults. Rather than handing over concessions that advance the Trump administration’s criminalizing, anti-immigrant agenda like today’s authorization of ICE presence on the disgraced Rikers Island, this moment demands leadership.

"Now is the time for New York State leaders to fight back, rather than cave to anti-immigrant attacks that put a bullseye on New York, falsely criminalize immigrant communities, and fuel a wasteful and cruel detention and deportation agenda. Strong leadership means being unequivocal: mass deportation and family separation violate our values and will only hurt our communities, economy, and state. Gov. Hochul and the legislature must fill the leadership void by ensuring New York remains a national leader in defending immigrant communities and has a strong firewall against Washington. That means passing bold, essential legislation like the New York for All, BUILD, and Access to Representation Acts—measures that would promote due process, access to legal representation, and stronger protections against federal overreach."

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The Vera Institute of Justice is powered by hundreds of advocates, researchers, and policy experts working to transform the criminal legal and immigration systems until they’re fair for all. Founded in 1961 to advocate for alternatives to money bail in New York City, Vera is now a national organization that partners with impacted communities and government leaders for change. We develop just, antiracist solutions so that money doesn’t determine freedom; fewer people are in jails, prisons, and immigration detention; and everyone is treated with dignity. Vera’s headquarters is in Brooklyn, New York, with offices in Washington, DC, New Orleans, and Los Angeles. For more information, visit vera.org.

Vera Action is an independent 501(c)(4) organization and the advocacy partner of the Vera Institute of Justice. At Vera Action, we harness the power of advocacy, lobbying, and political strategy to end mass incarceration, protect immigrants’ rights, restore dignity to people behind bars, and build safe and thriving communities.