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Resources for our immigrant communities

The City of New York supports all its residents.

Most City services, like attending school or using the health care system, are available to everyone, regardless of your immigration status. City employees will not ask about your immigration status unless it’s necessary for the service you’re receiving. They’re also required to keep that information confidential.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

What do I need to know about DACA Renewal?

What do I need to know About the End of DACA (9/5/2017)

Education

  • Children age 4 or turning 4 are eligible for Pre-K. All residents have the right to attend public school from age 5 until graduation or until the end of the school year when they turn 21. Classes are available for English learners.

Health care

  • Low-cost emergency and non-emergency health care is available to all at public hospitals and clinics and at other affordable clinics.
  • NYC Well is a free, confidential connection mental health care, in more than 200 languages, any time of day. Call 1-888-NYC-Well, text WELL to 65173, or go to nyc.gov/nycwell.

Child care

Emergency food and shelter

Public safety

  • The City does not conduct immigration enforcement. The NYPD does not ask about the immigration status of crime victims, witnesses, or other people who ask for help.
  • Anyone who has been the victim of a hate crime, or is not sure, should contact the NYPD. To contact the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force directly, call (646) 610-5267.

Immigration legal help

  • Free, safe immigration legal help is available through ActionNYC. Call the ActionNYC hotline at 1-800-354-0365 during business hours Monday through Friday.
  • Beware of unlicensed immigration service providers who take advantage of their customers. Get help only from a trusted, licensed attorney or accredited representative. For questions about this, call the New Americans Hotline at 1-800-566-7636 between 9AM-8PM on Monday through Friday.

Protection from discrimination

  • New Yorkers also have the right to be free from unlawful discrimination, retaliation, and harassment in the workplace, housing, and public places.
  • To file a complaint or learn more, call 311 or call the NYC Commission on Human Rights at (718) 722-3131.

Resources from City‑funded community‑based organizations

The Council also allocates funding to initiatives that provide additional resources and specialized services for immigrant communities. The following organizations provide these services free of charge, and should be contacted directly.

New York Immigrant Family Unity Project

This allocation a legal representation program for New Yorkers detained and facing deportation who cannot afford an attorney. NYIFUP provides services including: master calendar, bond and individual merits hearings, appeals, and social work services.

CUNY Citizenship Now! Program

Supports the expansion of the CUNY Citizenship NOW! Program which provides free immigration law services to assist immigrants on their path to U.S. citizenship.

Key to the City Initiative

This initiative supports the New York Immigrant Coalition’s consulate identification services to overcome barriers to school enrollments, financial institutions, higher education, and public safety; financial empowerment and access to sound financial services and college readiness workshops, immigration legal screenings, and other programs as determined by demand.

Unaccompanied Minors and Families Initiative

This initiative provides legal counsel for children in removal proceedings, and social services to children appearing on the Juvenile and Surge Dockets in New York Immigration court to ensure due process for minors who are struggling to maneuver the immigration system alone. This initiative will also provide legal services to “Adults with Children” (“AWCs”), to ensure that the adults and their children have access to critical educational, health and mental health services, and, ultimately, the opportunity to become fully integrated members of our community.

Immigrant Health Initiative

This initiative will focus on programs that decrease health disparities among foreign born and native New Yorkers by focusing on the following three goals: improving access to health care; addressing cultural and language barriers; and targeting resources and interventions.

Mental Health

Immigrant Opportunities Initiative

This initiative supports programs that assist immigrant adults gain access to information and resources and to strengthen their participation in the democratic process. Specifically, this initiative provides legal services for recent immigrants to assist with applications for citizenship or permanent residency, and various other immigrant related legal services