UPDATE 1/21/21:

"We commend Gov. Cuomo for funding the Liberty Defense Project in this year's budget. This critical program provides essential legal services for immigrants across New York State who are facing extraordinary hardships and systemic injustices. Especially now, the Governor's leadership in securing this lifeline for families facing separation, deportation, and other horrors is needed more than ever," said Kica Matos, Vice President of Initiatives at the Vera Institute of Justice. "As we build towards an immigration system that embraces dignity and strength for all of our communities, we will keep working to ensure legal services are protected well into the future."

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"Today (1/11/21), Gov. Cuomo reaffirmed his commitment to funding the Liberty Defense Project, which provides essential legal services for immigrants across New York State. This is excellent news for families facing separation, deportation and other horrors caused by the federal government's actions," said Kica Matos, Vice President of Initiatives at the Vera Institute of Justice. "We will continue to work closely with the Governor and state legislative leaders to ensure this lifeline is protected now and into the future."

About the Vera Institute of Justice:

The Vera Institute of Justice is a justice reform change agent. Vera produces ideas, analysis, and research that inspire change in the systems people rely upon for safety and justice. Vera collaborates with the communities most impacted by these systems and works in close partnership with government and civic leaders to implement change. Across projects, Vera is committed to explicitly and effectively reducing the burdens of the justice system on people of color and frames all work with an understanding of our country’s history of racial oppression. Vera is currently pursuing core priorities of ending the misuse of jails, transforming conditions of confinement, providing legal services for immigrants, and ensuring that justice systems more effectively serve America’s increasingly diverse communities. Vera has offices in Brooklyn, NY; Washington, DC; New Orleans, and Los Angeles.