New York State

FPI’s Immigration Research Initiative examines the role of immigrants in the New York State economy and beyond.

NYS Enhanced Services for Refugees: Now Is the Time to Expand

The New York State Enhanced Services to Refugees Program (NYSESRP) began in 2017 as a response to the federal government’s retreat from refugee resettlement. New York State was first in the nation to provide state funding to support refugee integration, a valuable investment in the refugees and asylees who call New York home. New York for Refugees—a coalition of refugee serving agencies, the Fiscal Policy Institute and the New York Immigration Coalition—seeks $5 million in the 2021 budget to expand NYSESRP and grow support for [...]

david2021-02-10T18:17:16-05:00February 10th, 2021|Blog, Immigration, New York State|

Military Coup in Myanmar Reverberates in California, Indiana, New York, and Texas

Over the past week, the military in Myanmar, the country also known as Burma, overthrew the democratically elected government and arrested the top civilian leaders. The United States state department condemned the action, saying “the military must reverse these actions immediately.” These actions are being watched closely, and in horror, by Burmese communities in the United States. To help understand what this means in Burmese communities in the United States, the Fiscal Policy Institute presents here data showing that of the 151,000 people born in [...]

Fern Whyland2021-02-05T14:24:49-05:00February 5th, 2021|Blog, Immigration, New York State, Other States & National|

Concrete Gains for New Yorkers from Federal Immigration Proposal

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 1, 2021 Media Contact: Fern Whyland: whyland@fiscalpolicy.org, 315-436-0558 Concrete Gains for New Yorkers from Federal Immigration Proposal Removing Barriers for Immigrants Boosts Earnings and Tax Revenue Read the report: A Pathway to Citizenship: Doing Well by Doing Good (Albany, NY) A new report by the Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI) in conjunction with the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) shows the ways New York State would benefit if undocumented immigrants could gain work authorization and apply for citizenship, as is being proposed [...]

Fern Whyland2021-02-01T14:15:15-05:00February 1st, 2021|Immigration, New York State, Other States & National, Press Releases|

The HEROES Act Should Include Undocumented Taxpayers

Across the United States, undocumented immigrants and their families are still experiencing eviction, food insecurity, hunger, and financial difficulties due to COVID-19. Federal relief has continuously excluded this population of immigrants from income replacement assistance, stimulus payments, and unemployment insurance, which has exacerbated the adverse economic effects on undocumented families. Earlier this year, the federal government passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) to provide financial relief to families who were impacted by COVID-19. Sadly, undocumented immigrants and their families were [...]

Cyierra Roldan2020-12-30T09:52:40-05:00October 26th, 2020|Blog, New York State|

New York Helps Pave the Way: NY’s Immigrant Inclusive Policies

In localities and states across the U.S., advocates and legislators have been working together to invest in the collective health and well-being of immigrants. This year’s Policy wins have been significant as advocates, and legislators continued to fight back against federal attacks on immigrants, and COVID-19 exposed the already persistent racial disparities. A recent report from the National Immigration Law Center that outlines policy victories in the United States highlighted New York’s commitment to immigrants. Despite the lack of federal leadership in response to [...]

Cyierra Roldan2020-12-30T09:51:08-05:00October 26th, 2020|Blog, New York State|

Refugee Resettlement Agencies Are Providing Essential Services During COVID-19

Now more than ever, refugee resettlement agencies are providing essential services to refugees and also to a number of other community members, to help protect everyone during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, the Fiscal Policy Institute showed how refugee resettlement agencies are anchor institutions in their communities, providing services for some of the most vulnerable community members, jobs for local residents, and a productive use for buildings that in some cases might otherwise be vacant. The importance that refugee resettlement agencies have to [...]

Cyierra Roldan2021-02-01T15:35:36-05:00June 1st, 2020|Blog, Must Read, New York State|

1.2 Million New Yorkers Excluded from the CARES Act

Undocumented immigrants are being affected by COVID-19 like all other New Yorkers, but unlike others they are being systematically excluded from federal economic assistance programs. The $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act included financial support for many families and businesses through this difficult period. But, despite the efforts of some members of Congress, the CARES Act very specifically excluded undocumented immigrants, and in some cases as collateral damage they excluded the children and spouses of undocumented immigrants, even if they [...]

Cyierra Roldan2020-12-30T13:39:56-05:00May 19th, 2020|Blog, New York State|

New York Can Do More for All New Yorkers, Regardless of Immigration Status, Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

April 29, 2020. In response to the economic and health hardships that the COVID-19 pandemic has created for individuals and families, state and federal governments have created relief programs to provide financial, safety and medical assistance. However, these relief programs do not apply to everyone. Many programs exclude undocumented immigrants who have also been laid off from jobs due to nonessential business closures. Undocumented immigrants are also experiencing the same financial and health hardships that the rest of us experience, which warrants the need for [...]

Cyierra Roldan2020-12-30T13:57:13-05:00April 29th, 2020|Blog, Must Read, New York State|

Undocumented and Unemployed

Orders for non-essential workers to stay at home and the ripple effects of the coronavirus have been felt throughout the New York economy. Over one million New Yorkers have filed for unemployment insurance since the middle of March when the coronavirus impact was first felt. Yet, one group is left behind by both the state’s existing unemployment insurance system and the federal government’s temporary enhancements to that system: undocumented immigrants. There are an estimated 530,000 undocumented immigrants in the New York State labor force. They [...]

Fern Whyland2021-02-24T10:28:05-05:00April 20th, 2020|Blog, Immigration, Must Read, New York State|

Press Release: Spotlight on New York’s Essential Workers

April 8, 2020 Overlooked, Underpaid and Indispensible Read the report: https://fiscalpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Essential-Workers-Brief-Final.pdf (Albany, NY) Today the Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI) released a new report spotlighting New York's essential workers who are on the frontlines during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the new analysis, there are 2.2 million “essential workers” in New York State. Twenty-two percent of these essential workers support their families on low incomes, with family incomes of less than 200 percent of the poverty level. Statement from David Dyssegaard Kallick, Deputy Director, Fiscal Policy Institute: “The pandemic has brought [...]

Fern Whyland2020-12-30T14:00:03-05:00April 8th, 2020|Blog, Employment, Unemployment & Job Quality, New York State, Press Releases|

Federal and State Relief Should Help All: Immigrants Should Not Be Left Behind

During this time of crisis, the coronavirus pandemic, federal and state governments need to ensure that all of us, regardless of immigration status and the job we hold in society, are safe, healthy, and have access to critical services. No one should be left to struggle on their own during a global pandemic. As a society, we want to encourage everyone who is sick to stay home from work and have access to medical care if they need it. Now is the time to protect [...]

Cyierra Roldan2020-12-30T14:05:51-05:00March 29th, 2020|Blog, Must Read, New York State|

We Must Boost New York’s Fighting Chance

New York State is dealing with a pandemic that demands sudden and unusual changes in our everyday lives. The need for societal change including social distancing and restricting public gatherings to protect our health is clear. The question is what will be the economic cost of our necessary public health policy and how will we pay for it? Explore these pressing issues with us in our new brief: At the time of this writing, our state is trying to reach the short-term goal of sufficiently “flattening [...]

david2020-12-30T14:06:28-05:00March 17th, 2020|Blog, Must Read, New York State|

Investing in Refugees: New York Must Continue to Lead

The New York State Enhanced Services to Refugees Program began in 2017 as a remarkable response to the federal government’s retreat from refugee resettlement. New York did what no other state would: provide flexible state funds to support the state’s strong network of resettlement agencies through a difficult time, and help them reframe their focus on integration. New York State allocated $2 million for NYSESRP in fiscal years 2018, 2019, and 2020. Because of continued federal cuts in support for refugee integration, New York for Refugees—the [...]

Cyierra Roldan2020-12-30T14:08:10-05:00February 20th, 2020|Blog, New York State|

New York Should Fund Programs that Support Immigrant Integration

Our state budget is the opportunity to improve the lives of immigrant New Yorkers by investing in immigrant integration. While Governor Cuomo continues to stress that New York is a welcoming state for immigrants, unfortunately he failed to include any funding in his executive budget for critical programs to help protect immigrants from federal attacks, cut funding for some programs, and eliminated it for others. There is still time for these issues to be addressed as the governor, the assembly, and the senate negotiate a final [...]

Cyierra Roldan2020-12-30T14:11:20-05:00January 5th, 2020|Blog, Must Read, New York State|

New York’s 4.5 Million Immigrants Will Look to Governor Cuomo’s Leadership to Protect Them Against Federal Attacks

We welcome Governor Cuomo’s focus on the diversity of New York in his State of the State address. The governor was clear that our state was and is comprised of a wide variety of peoples who are all working to create a better future for themselves and our state. We also commend the governor for acknowledging the difficulties immigrants face obtaining employment. His proposal to make occupational licensing possible for some immigrants is a small but welcome step. The measure would remove an exclusion from [...]

Cyierra Roldan2020-12-30T14:10:53-05:00January 5th, 2020|Blog, New York State|

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