AID FOR AIDS and AID FOR LIFE met with the Mayor of the City of New York and the Governor of New York State to discuss the challenges the state is facing due to the immigration crisis
On March 10th, the president of AID FOR AIDS (AFA) and AID FOR LIFE (AFL), Jesús Aguais, attended the Executive Directors’ meeting with New York Governor Kathy Hochul at the New York State Capitol, hosted by the Hispanic Federation.
On March 13th, Aguais met at City Hall with the Mayor of the City of New York, Eric Adams, and Commissioner Manuel Castro of the Mayor’s Office of Immigration Affairs.
Both meetings were opportunities to discuss the challenges that New York State and New York City are facing due to the unprecedented migration crisis occurring since the Spring 2022.
Aguais advocated for financial resources to support the newly arrived asylum seekers and expressed his concern about issues related to mental health, legal processes, housing and job opportunities.
AFA and AFL, as heads of a coalition of organizations serving the newly arrived asylum seekers, were joined by Fernando Albán Foundation, Una Carta Salva Una Vida and FUNDAVENYC. These organizations have been working closely with AFA and AFL to support this new community in NYC.
Both Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams showed their understanding of the complexity of this humanitarian crisis, stating that this needs to be dealt differently as it involves a mix of nationalities, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach.
Since July 2022, AFA and AFL have been responding to this crisis, serving 8,000 newly arrived asylum seekers, assisting them with the basic needs such as clothes, shoes, culturally appropriate hot meals and most recently, legal information about the asylum process.