Policy Bulletin
Latest Policy Actions and Developments
Immigration:
October 28, 2025
Her Justice testified at the City Council Immigration Committee oversight hearing examining the legal services for Immigrant New Yorkers. The testimony highlighted how Her Justice is meeting the urgent need for immigration legal services by expanding community partnerships, increasing outreach through multilingual clinics and know-your-rights events, providing direct representation for immigrant survivors of gender-based violence, and advocating for policy reforms that ensure safety, stability, and access to justice for all immigrant New Yorkers.
October 10, 2025
Her Justice, along with LGBTQ+ and Immigrant rights organizations, signed on to a letter demanding that the New York DMV implement regulations consistent with the REAL ID Act and stop arbitrarily denying eligible noncitizens REAL IDs.
October 1, 2025
Her Justice joined other immigration advocacy groups in a letter urging Congress to protect victim services funding under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
August 28, 2025
Her Justice, along with 70+ advocacy organizations, joined a letter applauding Governor Hochul for granting pardons to thirteen New Yorkers who faced deportation without due process, and called on her to use her clemency power. This included Sammy Vatthanavong, who faced deportation and, as result of a grant of clemency, was able to remain at home with his family.
August 13, 2025
Her Justice joined other immigration advocacy groups in submitting a public comment opposing harmful restrictions to educational and health supports for immigrant survivors contained in the 2025 HHS Notice. The notice reinterprets the definition of “federal public benefits” under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), adding 12 additional HHS programs to the list of benefits restricted to “qualified immigrants.”
Intimate Partner Violence:
October 16, 2025
Her Justice testified at the Committee on Women and Gender Equity’s oversight hearing examining the adequacy of domestic and gender-based violence data in New York City. The testimony recommended expanding data sources beyond police reports to include synchronized, disaggregated data across systems, such as domestic violence in divorce cases, to better capture the experiences of immigrant and undocumented survivors and inform more equitable resource allocation.
June 4, 2025
Her Justice, alongside other domestic violence advocacy organizations, contributed to an amicus brief in the Lively v. Wayfarer Studios LLC lawsuit, which highlights how “DARVO” (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender) tactics in retaliatory lawsuits are often used to deter survivors from speaking out.
February 26, 2025
Her Justice supported a letter prepared by a statewide coalition of organizations dedicated to providing culturally specific services to immigrant survivors of gender-based violence. The letter calls on New York State legislators to allocate $23 million through the Office of Victim Services to ensure culturally and linguistically responsive services remain accessible to immigrant survivors in the face of potential cuts in federal funding.
February 12, 2025
Her Justice, along with a coalition of other advocates in New York City, issued a new memorandum in continued support of a State bill (S.1353/Cleare, A.3038/Rosenthal) designed to provide relief from “coerced debt” to survivors of domestic violence, elder abuse, human trafficking, and abuse by caretakers.
December 12, 2024
Her Justice worked with the NYC Supervised Visitation Working Group to prepare a letter advocating for increased funding for supervised visitation for New York Family-Court-involved children who have been exposed to family abuse.
Child Support
February 12, 2025
Her Justice continued our advocacy for a broader menu of options for parents seeking to establish child support. We prepared a memo in support of S.245/Persaud, A.3753/Reyes, which would pilot an expedited settlement conference process for families who can agree on child support rather than requiring them to engage in traditional litigation in the backlogged Family Courts.
June 3, 2024
Her Justice signed on to a letter spearheaded by the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence and joined by domestic violence providers, survivors, and attorneys, providing comments regarding the establishment of proposed statewide rules for the use of mental health professionals in child custody and visitation proceedings.
January 2023
Her Justice was joined by law firm partners and coalition partners in two letters to Governor Hochul urging support for developing and resourcing an expedited settlement process for child support in the Family Courts as an effective and achievable solution to improving access for families.
January 2023
Her Justice was joined by pro bono partner firms Fried Frank and Orrick in a letter to Governor Hochul advocating for reform to the New York child support system and the Family Courts. The letter urged the Governor to develop and resource an option for parents seeking agreement on undisputed child support to engage in an expedited settlement conference process in the Family Courts, rather than spending months or years litigating cases and clogging the courts unnecessarily.
October 31, 2022
Her Justice met with counsel and others in the New York State Governor’s office to discuss our legislative proposal to pilot an administrative conference process for straightforward, undisputed child support and the need for child support reform generally in the State. Her Justice continues to strategize about this advocacy and engage with coalition partners who have been supporters on the need for reform.
Divorce
August 8, 2025
Her Justice submitted public comments on a proposal to amend Rule 205.43 of the Uniform Rules of the Family Court relating to time deadlines for child support violation proceedings.
June 18, 2025
Her Justice testified for the NYC City Council General Welfare Committee, proposing revisions to Int. 1175-2025 (CM Menin) concerning representation for domestic violence survivors in divorce cases.
March 26, 2025
Her Justice submitted comments concerning proposed changes to the New York contested matrimonial rules related to certain forms and eligibility for appointed counsel.
Courts and Other Allyship:
September 5, 2025
Her Justice submitted testimony for the Chief Judge’s Hearing on Civil Legal Services in New York. The testimony addressed the ongoing unmet civil legal needs of women living in poverty across the state and detailed the economic benefits that result from providing civil legal services in essential areas of life.
July 15, 2025
Her Justice joined a letter to New York elected officials expressing concern over the closure of Safe Horizon’s Supervised Visitation Program (SVP) in the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island due to a lapse in city-contracted funding.
June 9, 2025
Her Justice signed a letter along with other New York advocates urging the passage of S.2431 (Sen. Hoylman-Sigal) / A.3925 (AM Lavine), which would ensure privacy for judicial name change proceedings under Article 6 of the Civil Right Law as with all other name changes in New York (including for marriage, divorce, or adoption).
May 16, 2025
Her Justice submitted written testimony for the FY26 Executive Budget hearing held by the New York City Council Committee on General Welfare urging the Council to reaffirm and enhance resources to women living in poverty and for essential legal services.
April 30, 2025
Her Justice joined other New York legal providers in a letter to leaders of the New York State Legislature urging the allocation of $20 million towards the expansion of supervised visitation services statewide. The letter highlighted how the lack of this critical resource harms children and families and creates unnecessary costs for the courts caused by delayed proceedings.