The New York City Council, alongside New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP) legal providers, held a press conference to announce $16.6 million in funding which will go toward increasing the project’s reach to provide free legal services to immigrants facing deportation. The legal providers include The Legal Aid Society, The Bronx Defenders, and Brooklyn Defender Services. NY1 Noticias covered the event.

The press conference coincides with the opening of a new immigration court at 290 Broadway by the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s (EOIR), which was effected with hardly any public notice or transparency. NYIFUP providers condemned the opening and EOIR’s lack of notice to the immigration bar or public and their intentional failure to share any essential details regarding the newly opened courtrooms, including new dockets; whether hearing dates have been moved; or which judges have been relocated; is unacceptable and can lead to people being ordered deported in their absence.

“La nueva administración decidió expandir las personas que ellos van a estar deteniendo y también poner más cortes para que todos los casos se muevan más rápido y poder deportar a más personas”, said The Legal Aid Society’s Karla Ostolaza, an attorney with NYIFUP.

Watch footage from the press conference below.