A limit on legal services available to immigrants in New York City will do more damage than claimed by the Mayor’s Office and will also undermine the city’s push to bolster protections for immigrants, according to Human Rights Watch.
The policy, known as criminal carve-out, sees immigrants with particular criminal convictions excluded from accessing immigrant legal services funded by the city. It has been included in city contracts with organizations providing legal services to immigrants, forcing the companies reliant on city funding to turn away clients whose felony convictions disqualify them. But, providers say that the new policy should be reversed by Mayor Bill de Blasio, as it will create fear and misinformation in immigrant communities.
Rebecca Chowdhury, the senior legal coordinator at Human Rights Watch, says that the policy forces attorneys to abandon the very clients they ought to be assisting, and will cause organizations that rely on city funding, and immigrants to become mistrustful toward one another. Chowdhury adds that the policy also undermines the otherwise remarkable efforts by the city to support local groups and make sure that immigrants on a low income are able to fight deportation orders.
The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs has responded to the criticism by saying that the aim of the carve-out is to ensure that limited resources are prioritized in the smartest possible manner and will have a limited impact, affecting only those clients judged to be risks to public safety.