| Photo (not members of NY legislature) by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York State lawmakers are advancing a proposal for a historic $175 million investment in immigration legal services, a move advocates say would transform access to counsel for the more than 327,000 pending immigration cases statewide. The proposal appears in the Legislature’s One‑House Budget for Fiscal Year 2027 and is backed by a broad coalition of legal‑service providers, immigrant‑rights groups, and elected officials.
A Legislative Push Rooted in Due‑Process Concerns
The funding package includes support for two major bills: the Access to Representation Act (ARA, S141/A270) and the BUILD Act (A2689/S4538). The ARA would make New York the first state in the nation to guarantee legal representation for immigrants facing deportation. At the same time, the BUILD Act would create a four‑year fund to strengthen the state’s immigration legal‑services infrastructure.
Advocates say the need is urgent. According to the Vera Institute of Justice, nearly 30% of New Yorkers in deportation proceedings lack legal representation, and more than 12,800 people were detained in the state through mid‑October — more than double the previous year.
“ICE’s campaign of terror across our state and country has made one thing painfully clear: without guaranteed legal representation, immigrants are being forced to navigate a life‑or‑death system alone,” the CARE for Immigrant Families coalition said in a statement supporting the Legislature’s proposal.
Lawmakers Signal Support as Enforcement Intensifies
State legislators have echoed the call for expanded funding, citing both humanitarian and constitutional concerns. Senator Brad Hoylman‑Sigal, a lead sponsor of the ARA, said last year that legal representation “can quite literally determine if thousands of parents are separated from their children or not.” He added: “By investing in immigrant legal services we can protect vulnerable communities, stop family separation and reform our broken immigration court system.”
The renewed push comes amid heightened federal enforcement actions nationwide, including high‑profile incidents that have intensified public scrutiny. Advocates argue that state‑level protections are essential to safeguarding due process when federal actions “destabilize families and communities.”
What the $175 Million Would Fund
Under the Legislature’s proposal, the $175 million allocation would support direct legal representation for immigrants facing deportation. capacity‑building for nonprofit legal‑service providers, training and infrastructure to expand statewide access, support for the Office for New Americans, and community‑based organizations
The total package includes $183 million for immigration, social, and legal services, with the legal‑services portion representing the largest single‑year investment ever proposed in New York.
Status: Negotiations Underway
The proposal is under negotiation between the New York State Legislature and Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has not committed to the full $175 million allocation included in the Legislature’s One‑House Budget. The funding package—anchored by the Access to Representation Act (S141/A270), sponsored in part by Senator Brad Hoylman‑Sigal, and the BUILD Act (A2689/S4538)—would support direct legal representation for immigrants facing deportation, along with statewide capacity‑building for nonprofit legal‑service providers.
More than 100 organizations, including the New York Immigration Coalition, Immigrant ARC, the New York Civil Liberties Union, and the Vera Institute of Justice, have joined the campaign pushing for final adoption.
Advocates Say the Stakes Are High
The CARE coalition argues that the immigration system is “nearly impossible to navigate without an attorney” and that access to counsel should not depend on a person’s ability to pay.
“When someone is facing separation from their family, the loss of their livelihood, exile from the only home they may have known for decades, nothing less than due process is on the line,” the coalition said.
Next Steps
Budget negotiations will continue through the spring, with advocates planning additional rallies and legislative visits in Albany. If adopted, the funding would position New York as the national leader in universal representation — a model immigrant‑rights groups hope other states will follow.
