Policy Bulletin
Latest Policy Actions and Developments
Immigration:
January 13, 2025
Her Justice, along with public and private attorneys – from public defense and legal services offices to bar associations – that represent people with cases in the courts throughout New York, signed a letter to the NYS Office of Court Administration urging it to take clear, affirmative steps to ensure that litigants are able to address critical legal issues without interference from Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and officers in compliance with the Protect Our Courts Act.
September 25, 2024
Her Justice presented our policy report, Stories from Immigrant Survivors of Gender-Based Violence: The Impact of Work Authorization, in a plenary session at the 2024 New York State Bar Association Partnership Conference.
June 3, 2024
Her Justice, as a member of Immigrant ARC (I-ARC), along with concerned elected officials, signed a letter to express concerns regarding the recent decision to move the USCIS Brooklyn Field Office under the direction of the Newark District Office.
June 12, 2024
Her Justice, as a member of (I-ARC), submitted a comment in response to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, “Application of Certain Mandatory Bars in Fear Screenings” published by USCIS on May 13, 2024. I-ARC opposed the proposed rule allowing asylum officers to consider bars to asylum during the credible fear interview as it would increase the risks of erroneous asylum denials and make the asylum process more inefficient and inconsistent, raising concerns about due process violations for asylum seekers.
June 12, 2024
Her Justice joined 47 national, statewide, and local organizations that serve and advocate for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking in submitting a comment in response to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Application of Certain Mandatory Bars in Fear Screenings, published by USCIS.
Intimate Partner Violence:
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.
September 30, 2024
Her Justice signed on to a letter spearheaded by the National Consumer Law Center and the Center for Survivor Agency and Justice petitioning the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to open rulemaking under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) during the 2024 calendar year to protect victims of coerced debt.
September 16, 2024
Her Justice testified at an inter-agency policy listening session held by the NYS Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, NYS Office of Children and Family Services, NYS Office for Victim Services, and NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services. In our written submission and oral remarks, Her Justice addressed (1) the need for improved transparency of Family Court data to better assess whether the courts are meeting the needs of survivors and (2) agency support for proposed legislation (S.2278/A.1309, 2023-24 session), that would provide relief from coerced debt to survivors of domestic violence, elder abuse, human trafficking, and abuse by caretakers.
March 23, 2024
Her Justice joined an amicus brief along with Sanctuary For Families in In the Matter of Sapphire W., a case pending in the NY Appellate Division Second Department (represented by Skadden). The brief is in support of a non-Respondent mother in a Second Department appeal challenging the authority of ACS to make inspections of the mother’s home, even though the ACS case is against the father – a DV perpetrator who was removed from the home.
November 1, 2023
Her Justice signed on to a letter by NYSCADV supporting the release under the New York Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act of two domestic violence survivors from Niagara County, Ashley Berger and Chamia Johnson, who are currently serving long prison sentences for crimes that were directly related to their victimization.
Child Support
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.
August 17, 2022
Her Justice submitted our legislation piloting an administrative conference for agreed upon child support (S.8554, Persaud/A.9104, Reyes) for inclusion in the NYS Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus 2023 People’s Budget. (The proposal was included in the 2022 People’s Budget list of priorities.)
Divorce
Stay tuned for updates and developments in this area of our policy agenda!
Courts and Other Allyship:
December 10, 2024
Her Justice, as a member of the NY Legal Services Coalition, signed on to a letter in support of a New York State bill (S.7524/A.10350, 2023-24 session), which would authorize the Chief Administrative Judge to allow e-filing in local criminal and civil courts across the state where the option does not exist.
December 2, 2024
Her Justice signed on to a letter spearheaded by Lawyers Alliance for New York and the New York Legal Services Coalition urging Governor Hochul to amend the template contract that State agencies use for contracts with nonprofits, which makes client data the property of the State and bars the nonprofit from using it to provide services to those clients outside of the State-funded program. The letter demanded that the Governor act to protect nonprofit client confidentiality for the security of vulnerable communities and delivery of essential safety net programming.
October 11, 2024
Her Justice submitted policy priorities to the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus for the 2025 People’s Budget Framework. We urged the Caucus to support two pieces of proposed legislation: (1) S.2278/A.1309 (2023-24 session), which would provide relief from coerced debt to survivors of domestic violence, elder abuse, human trafficking, and abuse by caretakers; and (2) S.5269/A.3753 (2023-24 session), 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.
May 6, 2024
Her Justice submitted written testimony for the FY25 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 through funding initiatives such as SAVE, DoVE, and Speaker’s Initiative funding.
May 2, 2024
As a member of the NY Legal Services Coalition (NYLSC), Her Justice supported proposed NYS legislation (S.9130A, Ryan / A.10253A, Solages) that would protect Interest on Lawyer Accounts (IOLA) funds by amending Section 97-v of the State Finance Law to allow IOLA appropriations to occur outside the budget process and ensure that IOLA’s original legislative intent is honored. The amendment would ensure that IOLA funds are used solely for their designated purpose of providing civil legal services to the most vulnerable low-income New Yorkers and preserve the IOLA program’s legal and ethical foundations. Her Justice further supported this effort through direct advocacy with lawmakers and through social media posts.