Local Government at the Frontlines: How NYC Spearheaded Innovative Practices to Support New Arrivals

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Abstract

In the Spring of 2022, New York City became a destination community for new arrivals with tens of thousands of individuals arriving monthly and over 200,000 arriving by the summer of 2024.  Early on, some of the people arriving were coming via buses and others were migrating independently from other U.S. cities. This high number of people seeking shelter, tripled New York City’s unhoused population, placing unprecedented strain on the existing shelter system and social services. 

In response, New York City took immediate action and stood up over 200 shelters capable of housing between 60,000 and 70,000 asylum seekers at any given time. Putting new arrivals on the path to self-sufficiency became New York City’s top priority. However, unlike the traditionally unhoused population, new arrivals needed specific immigration related services, such as assistance to apply for an immigration benefit and employment authorization.  

This roundtable will explore the different innovative practices that New York City used to address the needs of new arrivals. Panelists will discuss how COVID-19 emergency response mechanisms were used to operationalize shelters and how New York City was able to launch the Asylum Application Help Center (AAHC), the nation’s first city-run pro se legal assistance model to support this population. The AAHC is a case study on how implementing a pro se assistance model by leveraging the expertise of nonprofit organizations and the private sector workforce has helped complete over 100,000 immigration applications.

Policy Area

• Population and Migration Issues

Organizer

• Grace Lochard, City Of New York

Speakers

• Molly Schaeffer, City Of New York

• Masha Gindler, City Of New York

• Manuel Castro, New York City Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs