Governor Hochul Announces Launch of New York State’s Institute for Immigration Integration Research & Policy to Help Immigrants Transition to Community Life, Further Education, and The Workforce

 

Advisory Board of Community Leaders Confirmed to Set in Motion Groundbreaking Policy Development and Select an Executive Director and Assistant Director in the Coming Months

 Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the launch of New York State's Institute for Immigrant Integration Research & Policy to help immigrants transition to community life, further education, and the workforce. The Institute, which received funding in the FY 2023 State Budget, will be housed at the Rockefeller Institute of Government, the State University of New York's public policy think tank. The announcement coincides with the selection of an Advisory Board of community leaders, who will set in motion groundbreaking policy development and select an Executive Director and Assistant Director in the coming months.

"New York is built on the hard work and determination of generations of immigrants, and this Institute will work to improve the lives of those who are trying to build better lives for themselves and their families," Governor Hochul said. "By clearing the boundaries for new New Yorkers, we can help to better integrate them into the New York community and access the New York Dream."

Upon arrival, immigrants often struggle to learn English, help their children to assimilate in school, find safe and affordable housing, secure jobs with a livable wage, secure transportation to commute to said jobs, and access available services—often for fear of deportation. The Institute's Executive Director and Assistant Director will analyze real-time immigration, economic, labor, and other data and identify potential solutions for policymakers to help build on the state's commitment to supporting immigrants of all ages, nationalities, and backgrounds.

The launch of the Institute follows Governor Hochul's mission to protect immigrants, including those who are undocumented, who were forced to leave their homelands. In October 2021, the Governor signed legislation (S.343-A/A.3412-A) classifying certain threats to report a person's immigration status as extortion or coercion under New York law. She opened up educational and housing opportunities to assist evacuees from Afghanistan and Ukraine.

According to the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), 900 refugees and Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders resettled in New York State in 2021, primarily from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, Afghanistan, and Burma. In the last 12 months, at least 1,300 Afghan evacuees were resettled in NYS as well.

The Institute's Advisory Board is a broadly based group of accomplished leaders who bring an array of experiences and relationships, as well as a shared commitment to immigration integration to the Institute's work. The Advisory Board—which will also provide the Institute with guidance and recommendations with respect to research, programming, fundraising opportunities, and community events—includes:

Wilma Alvarado-Little, MA, MSW, Director of Minority Health and Health Disparities Prevention, NYSDOH

Dr. Laura Anker, Professor, American Studies, SUNY Old Westbury

Murad Awawdeh, Executive Director, New York Immigration Coalition

Marcos Crespo, Board Trustee, SUNY

Dr. Isaac Ehrlich, Professor, Economics, University at Buffalo

Lucia Gomez, Political Director, New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO

Laura Gonzalez-Murphy, Executive Director, Office for New Americans, NYS Department of State

Ramona Hernandez, Director of the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute, CUNY

Paola Martinez, Community Organizer

Cesar Perales, Board of Trustees Vice Chairman, SUNY

Dr. Dina Refki, Director of the Center for Women in Government & Civil Society, University at Albany

Jennifer Rizzo-Choi, Executive Director, International Institute of Buffalo

Jo-Ann Yoo, Executive Director of the Asian American Federation

EDITOR'S NOTE:

By some of the names we see we can tell this is purely politics as usual. 

Kathy Hochul must be defeated comes November 8th.