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Council Discourse

NYC Council meetings, chaptered and linked by time.

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Remarks

Menin discusses funding for immigrant children's legal services

New York City Council · Aug 13, 2026 · starts 1:11:19 · 1 min

Menin addresses the expiration of federal funding for unaccompanied minor legal aid, praises Governor Hochul's $7 million state commitment, and highlights the Council's $82 million budget allocation for immigration legal services.

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 is not sitting 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 she's taking.

Julie Menin

And I also want to mention the funding, approximately $82 million of funding the city council pushed for and we received in the budget for legal immigration services.

Julie Menin

And that is something that we will absolutely continue to fund moving forward.

Julie Menin

Every person has a right to representation, including and particularly a scared child without their parents.

Julie Menin

It's simply unconscionable to think otherwise.

Julie Menin

The governor's commitment, as I mentioned, also boasters his council's funding that supports various legal agencies that work with immigrants.