“Lacking legal representation creates a huge equality gap and even financial, mental, and emotional instability.”
High school junior Valery (16) speaks to the crowd during the Care for Immigrant Families press conference.
Up, Up with Liberation! Down, Down with Deportation!
These were the chants Camila, Aneth and Valery, three members of the New York State Youth Leadership Council (NYSLC) rallied the crowd with on March 10th at the New York State Capitol.
“Access to legal representation would completely change the reality for many immigrant families in NY,” 16-year-old Aneth said.
The NYSYLC is the first undocumented youth-led organization in the state. With support from the Young Center on March 10, sixteen members of the NYSYLC Dream Team—advocacy hubs led by undocumented students, based in high schools and colleges – journey to Albany to make their voices heard. They were joined by several cross-movement coalitions which called on legislators to invest in protections for immigrant communities. Their demand: for lawmakers to pass the ARA and BUILD Acts which would expand access to attorneys for immigrants in New York and strengthen the capacities of legal service organizations to provide robust representation, respectively.
“It would mean that our families are not forced to face the immigration system alone, but instead have someone who can guide us, defend our rights, and give us a fair chance to stay together,” one high schooler told the crowd.
In 2024, the NYC Comptroller reported that 194,000 (55%) of New Yorkers in immigration court were unrepresented. Passing the Access to Representation Act, the Comptroller estimates would allow an additional 53,000 New Yorkers to avoid deportation. If passed, New York would be the first state to guarantee a right to representation for immigrants.
Students in attendance included youth with Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and those from mixed status families. Many of them wore handmade shirts that read: “All Children Belong” and “Families Belong Together.” Large banners and posters in the background read “Education, Not Deportation” and “Children Can’t Learn When They’re Afraid.”
As one young person put it, access to representation would mean “replacing fear, confusion and isolation with support and hope,” as one student put it.
Want to get involved? Learn more about NYSYLC! In 2020, NYSYLC led the successful fight to pass the NY Dream Act, which gave undocumented students graduating from NY schools access to state financial aid to support their higher education costs. The NYSYLC provides resources to help students apply for educational funds. Support NYSYLC’s work.