Policy Bulletin
Latest Policy Actions and Developments
Immigration:
March 25, 2026
Her Justice testified at the City Council preliminary budget hearing for the Immigration Committee, highlighting the critical nature of immigration legal services and the Council’s support for Her Justice’s services for women living in poverty. We described the impact of Her Justice’s legal assistance on our clients’ stability and safety, made even more precarious by the current climate of over-enforcement and its chilling effect.
March 9, 2026
Her Justice testified before the City Council Immigration Committee at an oversight hearing on sanctuary city policy and implementation, highlighting the critical role of immigration legal services amid heightened enforcement and an increasingly complex legal landscape.
February 17, 2026
Her Justice signed on to a letter with other immigrant rights, advocacy, and legal services organizations opposing an Interim Final Rule altering regulations for administrative appellate review by the Board of Immigration Appeals and establishing an atypical, abbreviated thirty-day comment period, and urging the DOJ to expand the comment date to a minimum of at least sixty days.
February 13, 2026
Her Justice joined the Gender Equity Coalition in a letter demanding that Congress use its full power of the purse and oversight authority—through appropriations, investigations, and enforceable restrictions—to immediately halt unconstitutional abuses and harms being inflicted on immigrant children, pregnant people, and immigrant survivors.
February 10, 2026
Her Justice signed on to a letter urging Congress to establish meaningful oversight to ensure community safety and accountability for harmful immigration enforcement actions and codify guidance on immigration enforcement near so-called “sensitive locations” in negotiating any funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Intimate Partner Violence:
March 6, 2026
Her Justice joined the statewide coalition and signed on in support of a letter for A.65A, which would fund a free supervised visitation program in New York State.
March 10, 2026
Her Justice signed a letter and prepared a memo in support of A.3264/S.7738, the Securing Access to Fair & Equal (SAFE) Shelter Act, which would increase the availability of domestic violence shelter options for single adult victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and trafficking.
December 2, 2025
Her Justice submitted testimony to a hearing held by the New York State Office to Prevent Domestic Violence on revisions to the New York State Model Domestic Violence policy. In our testimony, we highlighted the need for more training for court personnel in cases involving families experiencing domestic violence and immigrant survivors, along with a system commitment to data collection and evidenced-based domestic violence policy.
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.
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.
Consumer Debt:
March 18, 2026
Governor Hochul signed the coerced debt bill with chapter amendments into law!
Courts and Other Allyship:
March 17, 2026
Her Justice testified at the City Council preliminary budget hearing for the General Welfare Committee, highlighting the critical nature of legal services and the Council’s support for Her Justice’s services for women living in poverty.
February 6, 2026
Her Justice joined a letter urging Governor Hochul to include full spending authority for the Interest on Lawyer Account (IOLA) Fund in the 30-day amendments to the State FY27 Executive Budget. The letter underscored the need for this essential funding for civil legal services to low-income New Yorkers.
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.