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Read the latest on our policy campaigns, victories, and more. Please direct all media inquiries to mediarequests@bds.org.

Testimony: Testimony: The New York City Council Committees on Children and Youth, Mental Health and Substance Use, and Oversight and Investigations Oversight Hearing on The Effects of Social Media and Screen Time on Youth Mental Health

Brooklyn Defender Services urged the City Council to reject a bill that would force youth programs to monitor young people’s online activity and document altercations, warning that it would turn trusted community spaces into surveillance pipelines. “Placing a surveillance mandate in front of programs designed to improve youth wellbeing does not make young people safer, it makes those programs less effective and creates yet another pipeline from city services into the criminal legal system,” said Talia Kamran, Staff Attorney, Seizure and Surveillance Defense. BDS called on the Council to invest in mental health care and other supports that address youth conflict without criminalizing young people.
Letters & Testimonies
Surveillance and Civil Rights

BDS Public Comment in Opposition to Proposed Contract Award to Securus Technologies

Brooklyn Defender Services (“BDS”) submits this public comment in strong opposition to the proposed five-year, $23.2 million contract award to Securus Technologies LLC for the Person-in-Custody Communication System at New York City Department of Correction facilities. For the reasons set forth herein, BDS urges DOC to cancel the proposed award and calls on the Comptroller not to certify the contract. If approved, the contract would entrench a mass surveillance system that records calls, captures voiceprints, maps relationships, and exposes deeply personal data from people in custody and their loved ones to ongoing constitutional violations, risks to privileged communications, and potential sharing with law enforcement systems, including federal immigration enforcement. The proposed award would further endanger immigrant New Yorkers, undermine the city’s sanctuary laws, and deepen the harm already caused by a vendor with a documented record of data privacy violations and unlawful surveillance.
Public Comments
Surveillance and Civil Rights

Testimony: The New York City Council Committee on Public Housing Oversight Hearing on Security Measures for NYCHA's Vacant Apartments

Brooklyn Defender Services told the City Council that efforts to fill vacant NYCHA apartments cannot come at the cost of residents’ due process rights. In testimony before the Committee on Public Housing, BDS warned that NYCHA has used the NYPD to remove people from apartments without going through the civil legal process, putting New Yorkers at risk of wrongful eviction and homelessness. “NYCHA must not circumvent the due process rights of occupants in NYCHA apartments by using NYPD to remove residents and illegally locking out people without going through the civil legal process that exists for this very purpose,” said Evan Ma, Senior Staff Attorney in Brooklyn Defender Services’ Civil Justice Practice. BDS urged the Council to require stronger safeguards and appeals processes so occupancy disputes do not lead to illegal lockouts.
Letters & Testimonies
Tenant Rights and Housing Discrimination

Testimony: The New York City Council Committee on Immigration Oversight Hearing on Sanctuary Protections for Immigrant Communities

Brooklyn Defender Services told the City Council that New York must strengthen its sanctuary protections as immigrant New Yorkers face rising risks of detention, deportation, and family separation. In testimony before the Committee on Immigration, BDS warned that unlawful information-sharing, weak agency training, and expansive city data systems can funnel people into federal immigration enforcement even when local law is supposed to protect them. “The city cannot adequately protect New Yorkers, or uphold the detainer discretion laws, without upholding the requirement that ICE present a judicial warrant in interactions with City agencies about an individual for the purpose of civil immigration enforcement,” said Sophie Dalsimer Associate Director, New York Immigrant Family Unity Project. BDS urged the Council to close gaps in the detainer law, improve agency compliance, limit sensitive data collection, and pass the NYC Trust Act so New Yorkers harmed by violations can hold the city accountable.
Letters & Testimonies
Immigration Raids & Detention

Press Release: Federal Court Blocks Significant Pieces of Administration’s Sweeping Immigration Appeals Rule That Eliminates Meaningful Judicial Review

Brooklyn Defender Services joined immigrant rights organizations in a federal lawsuit challenging a Trump-Vance administration rule that would have gutted meaningful review at the Board of Immigration Appeals and sharply increased the risk of wrongful deportations. A federal court has now blocked key parts of that rule, preserving immigrants’ ability to appeal removal decisions before they are deported. The challenged rule would have slashed the deadline to file most appeals from 30 days to 10 and made summary dismissals far easier, threatening due process for people fighting to remain with their families and communities. “Today’s ruling preserves a vital avenue for judicial review in removal proceedings,” said Lucas Marquez, Director of Civil Rights & Law Reform at Brooklyn Defender Services.
Press Releases
Right to Counsel in Immigration Court

Testimony: The New York City Council Committees on Oversight and Investigation and Criminal Justice Oversight Hearing on the Department of Investigation’s Reports on Agency Compliance with Sanctuary-related Local Laws

Brooklyn Defender Services advised the City Council Committees on Oversight and Investigation and Criminal Justice Oversight that New York City must strengthen and enforce its sanctuary laws to stop city agencies from becoming conduits for detention and deportation. In testimony on agency compliance with sanctuary-related laws, BDS pointed to recent findings that city staff shared information with federal immigration authorities and warned that weak training, poor oversight, and unlawful data-sharing continue to put immigrant New Yorkers at risk of family separation and prolonged detention. “The city cannot adequately protect New Yorkers, or uphold the detainer discretion laws, without upholding the requirement that ICE present a judicial warrant,” said Sophie Dalsimer, Associate Director of the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project.
Letters & Testimonies
Immigration Raids & Detention

Testimony: The New York City Council Committee on Mental Health and Substance Use Oversight Hearing on the From Crisis to Care: How New York City Connects New Yorkers to Mental Health Services.

Brooklyn Defender Services told the City Council that New Yorkers in mental health crisis are still too often met by police instead of care, leading to escalation, arrest, and incarceration when people need treatment. In testimony before the Council’s Committee on Mental Health and Substance Use, BDS called for a stronger health care response to crisis, more low-cost mental health and substance use treatment, expanded housing access, and culturally competent services that people can actually reach before they end up in court. “Mental health crises must be treated as health issues, not law enforcement matters,” said Danielle Regis, Senior Supervising Attorney, Mental Health Representation Team.
Letters & Testimonies

Testimony: New York City Council Committee on Technology Oversight Hearing on Facial Recognition Technology and the Collection of Biometric Data

Brooklyn Defender Services recommended that the New York City Council take steps to rein in biometric surveillance and pass bills that would limit the use of facial recognition and other biometric data collection in residential buildings and places of public accommodation. In testimony before the Council’s Committee on Technology, Talia Kamran, Staff Attorney & Fellow, Seizure and Surveillance Defense Project, Criminal Defense Practice, warned that these systems do not make New Yorkers safer. They expose people to privacy violations, discriminatory targeting, false arrests, and government access to deeply personal data, with the heaviest burden falling on Black, brown, and heavily policed communities. BDS also argued that the Council must go further by confronting the city’s own use of surveillance tools, from jail voiceprint databases to the NYPD gang database, which can deepen criminalization and family separation, "There is no way to build a humane surveillance state."
Letters & Testimonies
Surveillance and Civil Rights

Testimony: The New York City Council Committee on Children and Youth Subject: Examining Racial Disparities in New York City’s Family Policing System and the Need for Family Miranda Rights

Brooklyn Defender Services joined other New York City family defense organizations to urge the City Council to pass legislation requiring “Family Miranda Rights” at the first point of contact between ACS and families. In testimony before the Committee on Children and Youth, the organizations detailed stark racial disparities in the family policing system and called for immediate action to ensure parents are informed of their rights and have timely access to counsel before invasive investigations escalate to family separation. “When families know their rights and are able to effectuate them they stay safe and intact,” said Nila Natarajan, Director, Family Defense Practice and Policy.
Letters & Testimonies
Early Defense for Parents Facing ACS Investigations

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Brooklyn Defender Services
177 Livingston St., 7th Fl.
Brooklyn, NY 11201

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