NEW YORK, CMC – Caribbean immigration advocates, the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) has collaborated with local member organizations, immigrant community members, and allies in rallying at Van der Donck Park in Yonkers, in suburban New York City, urging New York State lawmakers to pass the New York for All Act before the end of the 2025 legislative session.
Murad Awawdeh, NYIC’s president and CEO, whose umbrella organization represents over 200 immigrant and refugee groups in New York, said that, as the legislative session winds down, immigrant communities are sounding the alarm: “Without immediate action from Albany (New York State capital), families remain at risk of being torn apart through unnecessary and harmful collusion between local agencies and ICE (the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency).”
Awawdeh told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that rally participants called on elected officials to stand with their immigrant constituents and “act swiftly to pass this critical public safety and immigrant rights legislation.
“Every New Yorker deserves to live in safety, together with their family,” he said. “Additionally, our economy depends on the full participation of our immigrant workers.
“But right now in New York, we are seeing families being ripped apart by ICE’s increasingly aggressive and legally questionable practices,” Awawdeh added. “New York State must stand up and fight back against the terror Trump is unleashing in our communities.
“We are quickly seeing our collective rights – and our sense of humanity – dissolve before our eyes,” he continued. “If there was ever a time to take a stand for immigrants and our shared values, it’s now.
“Before the end of this legislative session, Albany must pass the New York For All Act to protect our immigrant neighbors and keep our families together,” Awawdeh said.
David Imamura, Westchester County Board of Legislators, District 12, said: “The national resistance to the Trump administration starts locally. We must pass New York For All to ensure that our immigrant brothers and sisters have all the rights that the State can provide in a time when the federal government is completely ignoring those rights.”
Jirandy Martinez, executive director of Community Resource Center, said his center “proudly affirms its unwavering commitment to immigrant families and their right to live with dignity, safety, and opportunity.
“For years, we have stood as a pillar of resilience, helping our community navigate diversity, strength, and unity,” he added. “New York For All legislation is a critical step forward in ensuring that no New Yorker, regardless of immigration status, has to live in fear of being torn from their family or denied access to essential services.
“This legislation protects our neighbors from unjust targeting, preserves trust in local institutions, and ensures that state and local resources are used to uplift, not endanger, our communities,” Martinez continued. “We call on New York State legislators to pass New York for All without delay. Together, we will continue to build a future where every family feels safe, valued, and free to thrive.”
Marni Rabin-Marron, of the group Indivisible Yorktown NY, urged that “NY for All be passed to ensure that all New Yorkers, regardless of immigrant status, are protected from ICE’s inhumane agenda.
“We cannot allow our local resources to be used in a predatory manner,” he said. “It is time for the State of New York to advance a policy that protects our immigrant neighbors and families.”
Awawdeh said the New York for All Act is “a landmark piece of legislation that would prohibit state and local government agencies, including law enforcement, from collaborating with ICE, sharing sensitive personal information, or allocating personnel and resources to aid in federal immigration enforcement efforts.”
By reinforcing the separation between local governance and federal immigration policies, he said the bill ensures that all New Yorkers, regardless of immigration status, can access public services, care for their families, and participate in community life without fear.
Awawdeh said municipalities that limit ICE collusion are proven to have economic benefits for all and to be safer than those that divert their local resources to ICE’s anti-immigrant agenda.
He said over 60 percent of home healthcare workers and aides for older people are immigrants, and some of the most likely first jobs for Caribbean and other asylum seekers include nursing assistants, child care workers, and construction workers — some of the most critical, hard-to-fill jobs.
Awawdeh said the New York For All Act will support and protect our neighbors, colleagues, friends, and family by quelling the fear that simply going to work or seeking help in an emergency could result in them being torn from family.
“The time is now for Albany to pass New York for All,” he urged.
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