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.

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.

Brooklyn Defender Services joined the Family Justice Law Center, the Center for Family Representation, the NYU Family Defense Clinic, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, and others to file a federal class action lawsuit challenging unconstitutional delays in New York’s process for appealing listings on the State’s child abuse and maltreatment registry. Thousands of parents are forced to wait more than a year to clear their names even though most ultimately succeed, while being blocked from jobs in health care, education, and child care and prevented from caring for relatives. “As public defenders, we see firsthand the harm a parent’s SCR indicated report can have on a family—from a parent losing a long-standing job, to reduced employment opportunities and the inability to be a family support system for loved ones in crisis,” said Lauren Shapiro, Managing Director of the Family Defense Practice. “New York families deserve a fair and timely process when they seek to appeal their inclusion on the SCR.”

Brooklyn Defender Services joined Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, HIAS, the American Immigration Council, and the National Immigrant Justice Center in filing a federal lawsuit to block a sweeping new rule that would dismantle meaningful appeals in immigration court. The rule would drastically shorten appeal deadlines, allow cases to be dismissed before transcripts are even created, and make it far harder for people facing deportation to challenge legal errors in their cases. “The Interim Final Rule creates a barrier to appellate review in removal proceedings and strikes at the heart of due process,” said Lucas Marquez, Director of Civil Rights & Law Reform at BDS. “The Rule will result in the deportation of people who are eligible for immigration relief...simply because the Board of Immigration Appeals will no longer be an avenue to fairly review their cases.”