Undergraduate Intern

amNewYork: NYC immigrant advocates sue over Trump admin's refusal to share New policies for judges denying detainees bond. * May 12, 2026 * 11:34 am NYLAG filed a complaint against the U.S. Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) for failing to comply with a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on how immigration judges make bond determinations. NYLAG attorneys Kate Fetrow and Shannon Lee told amNewYork that, previously, immigration judges, like those at 26 Federal Plaza, would grant bond to detained immigrants as their removal cases proceeded as long as they weren't a flight risk or a threat to society. Now, the attorneys say, clients who would've been let out of detention are being kept locked up for months on end for reasons that don't make sense, and they can't figure out why. "We want to know what the standards are that immigration judges are using," Lee said. "From NYLAG's perspective, it feels like the Department of Justice is rewriting the rules to a game that none of us are privy to. If we don't know what the rules are and the standards are, it makes representing our clients incredibly difficult." [...] Fetrow emphasized that immigrants detained who are seeking bond typically haven't been convicted of a crime, calling the Trump administration's bond denials a violation of the principles of a free society and saying the DOJ's "undermined" the constitutional permissible rationales for denying bond. "This profound realigning of who is detained... for absolutely no reason and with no way to meaningfully challenge that detention has a huge impact on thousands of people across the country, thousands of New Yorkers, as well as their communities and their loved ones," Fetrow said. "It has vastly expanded the number of people who are being held in prison for no reason at all." Read the full story in amNewYork, originally published on May 12, 2026, here. May 11, 2026 No Comments Today, the New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) filed a complaint against the U.S. Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) for failing to comply with a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on how immigration judges make bond determinations. April 7, 2026 No Comments On July 1, roughly 450,000 New Yorkers on the Essential Plan will lose their health insurance due to disastrous federal health care cuts. Rebecca Wallach, Director of NYLAG's Evelyn Frank Legal Resources Program, shares what you can do if you're about to lose coverage. February 24, 2026 No Comments Deborah Berkman, Director of NYLAG's Shelter and Economic Stability Project, wrote about the dangers of homeless "sweeps" for the New York Daily News. January 22, 2026 No Comments Los consejeros financieros del Grupo de Asistencia Legal de Nueva York (NYLAG) están aquí para ayudarle a revisar sus opciones, entender sus derechos y crear un plan personalizado para fortalecer su estabilidad financiera. January 14, 2026 No Comments Anna Luft, NYLAG's Associate Director for Housing Policy and Advocacy, told The New York Times that the more than 200,000 New Yorkers who have reported heating issues each year over the past three winters is likely an undercount. December 23, 2025 No Comments City contract payment issues and chronic delays continue to threaten legal service providers' ability to provide critical services to hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers in need. The consequences of these delays are severe, and the need for a swift and complete resolution to this long-standing contracting issue is more urgent than ever.

New York Legal Assistance Group's Special Education Unit receives grant from The New York Bar Foundation. * April 8, 2026 * 2:14 pm NEW YORK - The New York Bar Foundation's grant program supports nonprofit organizations across New York State whose law-related projects expand access to justice, advance the rule of law, strengthen the justice system and help meet pressing community needs. "The Foundation is proud to support organizations whose work helps expand access to justice, strengthen communities and respond to real needs across New York State," said the Honorable Cheryl E. Chambers, president of The New York Bar Foundation. New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) recently received a grant from The New York Bar Foundation. The grant will support its Special Education Unit (SEU) program. NYLAG's SEU program provides free legal services to students and families to ensure that children with disabilities can exercise their guaranteed right to a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. Last year, SEU handled 275 cases and secured nearly $7 million in ongoing education benefits for 168 families. Thanks in part to the support of The New York Bar Foundation, whose generous $9000 grant will go toward support staff, SEU will be able to directly serve an estimated nearly 340 individuals, benefitting more than one thousand people by extension across the broader New York City community this year. "With this grant, our lawyers can bolster their capacity to collaborate with parents of children with disabilities, help navigate the legal complexities of the special education system, and ensure students receive the educational services to which they are entitled," said Jessica Selecky, director of New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG)'s Special Education Unit. "We thank The New York Bar Foundation for supporting our work - including consultations and representation at impartial hearings, appeals and court actions - which in turn, supports children with disabilities to make meaningful progress in their education that matches their needs." The Foundation recently awarded more than $570,000 in support of law-related programs across New York State, helping nonprofit organizations expand services, address urgent needs, and build momentum for future growth. "Our grantees are doing important work in communities throughout the state, and these grants help them build capacity, meet urgent needs and extend their reach," said Gioia Gensini, chair of the Grants Review Committee. The New York Bar Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. To learn more about the Foundation, visit tnybf.org.

New workers rights AI tool combats Wage Theft in New York. Justicia Lab and the New York Legal Assistance Group announced the launch of Reclamo AI, a multilingual, mobile digital assistant that helps low-wage and immigrant workers identify, document and address workplace and wage theft violations. Justicia Lab, Pro Bono Net's nonprofit innovation incubator focused on technology solutions for the worker and immigrant rights movement, together with the New York Legal Assistance Group, on Thursday announced the launch of Reclamo AI, a multilingual, mobile-first digital assistant designed to help low-wage and immigrant workers in New York prevent, assess and document workplace violations. Reclamo was first introduced in 2022 as a tool to screen and file wage theft complaints. The original version was built to support nonlawyer advocates, including worker organizers and staff at worker and employment centers, particularly in the construction and building trades. Since its launch, the tool has been used to file more than $1.5 million in wage theft claims on behalf of workers. The newly released edition allows workers to access the tool directly through text or voice on any smartphone browser or via WhatsApp. Content is optimized in English and Spanish and is available in an additional 50 languages. The expanded platform now addresses the full scope of New York State employment law and focuses on industries where wage theft is most common, including construction, hospitality, domestic work, retail, and child and elder care services. "Reclamo AI comes at a moment when workers feel disempowered and we want them to know they have power, a voice and partners to support them," said Justicia Lab Director Rodrigo Camarena. By using AI-based tools developed in partnership with worker-centered organizations, Reclamo AI aims to extend access to accurate legal education and resources to a far larger number of low-wage and immigrant workers than traditional systems can reach on their own. Wage theft remains a widespread national problem and is particularly acute in New York. More than 127,000 New Yorkers have experienced wage theft, collectively losing millions of dollars in earned wages. The impact falls disproportionately on low-wage workers, immigrants, women, and communities of color. Several factors contribute to the persistence of wage theft, including limited worker knowledge of wage and hour laws, complex and poorly enforced complaint processes, and a shortage of free or low-cost legal assistance. Filing a wage theft claim is often time-consuming and confusing, with forms filled with legal terminology that can be especially difficult for non-English speakers to navigate. As a result, many valid claims are never filed. Reclamo AI helps workers better understand their rights and available remedies and accelerates their ability to take action. The tool provides education on state and federal wage theft laws, including minimum wage requirements, overtime rules, and illegal deductions. It allows workers to check whether a current or prospective employer has a history of wage theft violations and offers information and connections to pro bono legal services and nonlawyer advocates for further support. The platform draws on vetted workplace justice materials compiled by NYLAG attorneys, as well as data from Documented NY's Wage Theft Monitor, which includes more than 35,000 confirmed wage theft claims filed with state and federal labor agencies. Additional proprietary materials developed by Justicia Lab and its partners are also integrated. This approach ensures that workers receive verified legal information from trusted sources rather than unfiltered content from the broader internet. "There is unlimited need for advocacy support for workers but nearly every legal service organization in New York is overrun with demand," said Mel González, director of NYLAG's Employment Law Project. "By embracing AI and other new platforms with technology partners like Justicia Lab that center building worker power, a greater number of low-wage and immigrant workers will be able to receive accurate and timely legal education and resources." Reclamo AI was built using a custom application of generative artificial intelligence with privacy and security embedded into its design. User data is stripped of personally identifiable information, anonymized, and deleted every 48 hours. The system relies on enterprise AI models and does not use or share user data for AI retraining. Justicia Lab plans to continue refining the tool by incorporating feedback from workers and advocates into future versions.