Supporting New Neighbors

Know Your Rights training for immigrants held by Make the Road NY, an Immigration Protection Group partner

New York is welcoming a historic migration of asylum seekers and the Consortium for Worker Education’s Immigration Protection Group is rising to the challenge of supporting these new New Yorkers. 

“What CWE’s IPG partners do today is more critical than ever,” says Darly Corniel, CWE’s Director of Education. “We have a new influx of vulnerable individuals into our communities who are perfect prey for unscrupulous employers and employment agencies. We have families with language barriers, trying to understand what their rights and responsibilities are and in need of guidance navigating the city and our processes. All of this is on top of their need for legal services. Our partners do the necessary work under the most critical and difficult circumstances.”

CWE created the IPG to coordinate a response among New York unions and community organizations to the anti-immigrant policies of the Trump administration. In the succeeding years, the organizations have adjusted their services to meet new challenges and needs facing immigrants. These groups have welcomed the new migrants arriving in New York, while continuing to serve their existing constituencies. 

Immigrant workers often face wage theft, dangerous workplaces, and union busting -- all violations of labor law regardless of immigration status. Fear of retaliation, however, means that these crimes often go unaddressed. Many new arrivals come without existing connections in the city, making these vulnerabilities even more pronounced.

“As the City designs a comprehensive strategy to support the asylum seekers, our partners are filling in many of the gaps in legal services, training, and education,” says Corniel.

Immigration Protection Group holds Know Your Rights training for immigrant workers in partnership with the Teamsters Union

The IPG receives funding from the City Council to provide educational services to immigrant communities that are a key part of helping new immigrants succeed in New York. Classes include English, citizenship, computer literacy, and know your rights, and are held at organizations that immigrants trust like Make the Road New York, New York Communities for Change, Yemeni American Merchants Association, the Ansob Center for Refugees, St. Jerome H.A.N.D.S. Community Center, 1199 SEIU, and the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union. 

The classes are available alongside the many other services that these organizations provide to immigrants. 

IPG members have been on the front lines supporting arriving migrants. Catholic Charities administered a navigation center for new immigrants. Make the Road New York distributed free cell phones and held orientation sessions to familiarize migrants with the city and their legal rights. 

IPG is partnering with the Justice Lab to train organizations to use ¡Reclamo!, a new digital tool that assists workers in fighting wage theft. The bilingual tool helps workers document wage theft and craft a legally sound complaint that they can submit to the labor department. Since its soft launch in October, ¡Reclamo! has been used to claim more than $1 million in stolen wages. 

CWE’s Astoria Worker Project (AWP) has visited migrants at city shelters and expanded programming over the last year to serve them. Workers who come to the AWP office can get help enrolling in job training or immigration services at CWE partners. The project holds classes where new arrivals learn how to get around New York City and use basic services. AWP also organized a clothing drive to help their new neighbors cover basic needs. 

AWP launched Raices (which translates as “Roots,” in English) in partnership with Immigrant Assistance Services to provide mental health support to Colombian refugees and survivors of violence. 

“IPG partners are stretched beyond their capacity, yet they continue finding ways to expand services as they see the needs arise,” says Corniel. “Our IPG partners are essential, paramount to assisting new arrivals to the city.”