Commissioner Ali details immigration legal services network
Ali outlines MOIA's legal programs including 29 providers, legal support centers with $18M over three years conducting 12,000+ screenings since July 2025, the hotline operated by Catholic Charities receiving 19,800+ calls, and expanded hours and languages.
Over the past year, MOIA has strengthened its legal service infrastructure during a period of dramatically increased need.
MOIA's immigration legal programs include legal support centers, the immigration legal support hotline, the legal technical mentorship program, and the rapid response legal collaborative.
Together, these initiatives expand access to trusted immigration legal support at a time when the demand continues to grow.
Our immigration legal service network includes 29 providers serving communities across the five boroughs.
Last summer, MOIA launched the Immigrant
immigration legal support centers supported by more than $18 million in investments over three years to strengthen community-based organizations providing culturally and linguistically responsive immigration legal assistance.
Since the program's launch in July 2025, the LSEs have conducted more than 12,000 comprehensive legal screenings, helping immigrants address a wide range of legal needs.
These investments are critical not only to expand services, but to strengthen the long-term capacity of the organizations immigrant New Yorkers rely on the most.
Another critical resource for immigrant New Yorkers is MOIA's Immigration Legal Support Hotline that's operated by Catholic Charities, which helps New Yorkers connect to comprehensive immigration legal screenings and support.
So far this year, the hotline has received more than 19,800 calls.
In FY26, MOIA increased funding to expand the hotline's accessibility and responsiveness as callers face increasingly urgent and complex immigration challenges.
This April, we partnered with Catholic Charities to host a family preparedness FODMANC, responding to concerns from parents and caregivers about family separation.
In collaboration with the New York State Office of New Americans, the Mexican Consulate, and the New York Legal Assistance Group, 56 volunteers fielded 225 calls.
As part of it,