NEW YORK, New York – Immigration advocates have welcomed major investments in immigrant services included in New York City’s US$125.8 billion Fiscal Year 2027 budget, saying the funding comes at a critical time as the Trump administration intensifies immigration enforcement measures across the United States.
NYIC President and CEO, Murad Awawdeh.New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the City Council approved the spending plan on Tuesday, allocating millions of dollars to legal services, healthcare access, housing support, language assistance, and educational programs benefiting immigrant communities.
Murad Awawdeh, president and chief executive officer of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), an umbrella organization representing more than 200 immigrant and refugee groups across New York State, said the budget reflects years of advocacy by community organizations.
“We fought for a range of programs that support immigrant New Yorkers, and we are pleased to see many of those priorities included in this budget,” Awawdeh told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).
He said the funding arrives at a particularly important moment as immigrant communities face growing uncertainty.
“This deal represents significant and vital investments toward building a New York City that works for everyone who calls it home,” Awawdeh said. “As the Trump administration continues to dismantle legal protections for immigrant New Yorkers, including Temporary Protected Status, increased funding for immigration legal services has never been more critical.”
He warned that as more immigrants face detention and deportation proceedings, the city must continue investing in legal defense programs.
“As more New Yorkers are detained by the federal government, we must continue to invest in detained removal defense as an essential lifeline to keep families together,” he said.
The budget allocates US$86.4 million for immigration legal services designed to help immigrants facing deportation by providing access to attorneys and other support services.
Additional funding has been earmarked for naturalization assistance, affirmative legal services, and language access initiatives that serve the city’s 2.5 million residents classified as having limited English proficiency.
Among the beneficiaries are the Community Interpreter Bank and the Language Services Worker Cooperatives, which received a record US$4.2 million investment. The budget also includes support for the Key to the City programme and the City University of New York’s Citizenship Now initiative.
Immigrant students, including those from Caribbean families, are expected to benefit from the restoration of the US$4 million Immigrant Family Outreach Initiative, along with US$2.4 million in new funding for immigration legal services, US$4 million for arts education, and continued investments in school infrastructure.
