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Council Discourse

NYC Council meetings, chaptered and linked by time.

Created by Uzair Qadir

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Remarks

Speaker Menin: State funding for unaccompanied minors legal aid

New York City Council · Aug 13, 2026 · starts 0:16:31 · 49 sec

Speaker Menin addresses the expiration of federal funding for legal aid for immigrant children, praises Governor Hochul's announcement of $7 million in state funding for unaccompanied minors, and reaffirms New York's commitment to immigrant neighbors.

Julie Menin

The administration is also abandoning our most vulnerable immigrants, our children, having let federal funding for legal aid expire at the end of July.

Julie Menin

But New York will not sit idly by.

Julie Menin

Yesterday, Governor Hochul announced that the state will provide more than $7 million to legal aid services supporting unaccompanied minors, and I applaud her for the action that she's taken.

Julie Menin

Every person has a right to representation, including and particularly a child without their parents, and it's unconscionable to think otherwise.

Julie Menin

The government's commitment also bolsters the council's funding that supports various legal agencies that work with immigrants.

Julie Menin

So from City Hall to Albany, New York.

Julie Menin

continues to stand by our immigrant neighbors, and we are always a resource for all people in need.