Council Member Joseph asks about aid for people losing status
Council Member Joseph asks what steps the city is taking to aid people who may lose status in the future. Ali says MOIA works with Haitian Response Initiative partners, legal clinics, and the hotline to connect people to attorneys and help families plan next steps.
Councilmember?
Thank you so much, Chair.
Commissioner, always good to see you and your team.
Thank you for that you do.
A couple of questions.
What option exists or what steps is
the city taking to aid people who may have lost status in the future, TPS or otherwise?
So on this front, I'm really pleased to say we've been working closely with our HRI partners to ensure that anyone who is at risk or has lost protections has access to legal services.
And so not only is a hotline available for individuals to call, but we have been standing up legal clinics in communities and through our partners to make sure that individuals are connected to an attorney and who can make an assessment if they have other forms of relief.
The other thing that I think is really critical, and it pains me really to say this, is that in many circumstances, we are learning that there are very limited options for families.
And so we've been working with partners to train organizations on what does it mean to help a family really plan for what their next steps are.
So it's really a combination of making sure, first and foremost, if there are legal options available, connecting individuals to those services, and then also making sure that there are additional resources that are available to families who are
especially vulnerable right now.
Well, thank you for also working with our non-for-profits to make this happen.