Comptroller Stringer Releases Comprehensive Manual To Expand Immigrants’ Access To City Services

(New York, NY) – On Friday, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer released an “Immigrant Rights and Services Manual,” a new comprehensive guidebook to City, state and federal services. The 70-page manual, which will initially be translated into Chinese, Korean, Russian and Spanish, outlines the real-life impacts of recent legislation and policy changes, such as IDNYC, the new municipal identification card, and Local Laws 58 and 59, which restrict the City’s cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“More than 200 languages are spoken every day in New York, and government must do everything it can to help immigrants participate in the life of our City,” Comptroller Stringer said. “Information is power, and the new manual we’re releasing is a helpful roadmap to health, legal, social and education resources that are available in all five boroughs.”

The manual includes sections on:

• Language access rights-An overview of how City agencies are required to provide language access under Local Law 73 and Mayor’s Executive Order 120;
• Public benefits-Information on the wide range of public benefits and programs available to immigrants, including the areas of health care, public schools and housing;
• Immigrants’ rights and protections-A description of workers’ rights (such as prevailing wages and OSHA regulations), consumer and financial rights, anti-discrimination protections and the dangers of immigration consultant fraud;
• Voting and civic participation-A summary of how immigrants can become involved in civic life, from filing taxes to attending and joining community boards;
• Resource directory-A list of government agencies, community organizations and other resources that can help immigrants obtain benefits and services and enforce their rights, and
• Deportation and detention-An in-depth overview of who can be deported and why, including when New York City does and does not cooperate with ICE, and the legal resources and assistance immigrants can access for these proceedings.

“New York City has always been a beacon for the world, and the millions of immigrants who have come here didn’t just settle in our City, they helped build it. We must continue to welcome those who come here in search of a better life. New York has welcomed and celebrated immigrant diversity for more than 100 years, and this new manual is an important part of that tradition,” Stringer said.

To view the manual please click here.

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