Courtesy of the City Comptroller’s Office
Comptroller Stringer said that “the manual can help clarify certain issues and answer some of the questions” that many immigrants have about the Big Apple.
By Forum Staff
City Comptroller Scott Stringer on Thursday released an updated version of his “Immigrant Rights and Services Manual: Important Information You Need to Participate in the Life of New York City.”
The 75-page guide, which was designed to help 3.3 million foreign-born New Yorkers understand their legal protections and access a wide range of services, is now available in 10 languages – English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Bengali, Haitian Creole, Russian, French, and for the first time Arabic and Urdu – and features resources and information on public benefits, consumer rights, civic participation, health care, language access, citizenship, immigration services. Stringer said it also provides guidance on deportation and detention, permanent residency, executive actions impacting immigration, and more.
“This manual is not intended to provide answers to every question that an immigrant New Yorker may have about laws and policies. Nor does it replace the guidance that a lawyer can provide to an immigrant in need of legal services,” Stringer noted. “But in these uncertain and trying times, the manual can help clarify certain issues and answer some of the questions that many immigrants, especially those who have recently arrived in New York City, may have about the laws of the city and how to obtain assistance from their government and other service providers.”
The comptroller also said that such publications are critical now more than ever.
“New York City couldn’t run without the immense contributions and ingenuity of our immigrant communities. They helped build our city – and they will help propel our city into the future. But with Washington putting our immigrant neighbors in the crosshairs – attempting to split apart families and upend lives – we need to stand shoulder to shoulder with foreign-born New Yorkers who make our city the global capital of culture and innovation. We need to make sure all immigrant New Yorkers know that we have their back,” Stringer added. “That’s why we’re releasing this manual and offering it in more languages than we ever have. In these times, foreign born New Yorkers must have the tools they need to fight back, so they can make it in our city and help the five boroughs thrive like never before. We all need to be in this together.”
