Courage
Dear Friends of the NYIC,
In 2025, escalating federal enforcement, relentless policy attacks, and dehu manizing rhetoric fueled fear and instability across immigrant communities statewide. Federal agents separated families, targeted workers, and plunged entire neighborhoods into uncertainty. In the shadow of darkness, this year raised urgent questions about who gets permission to live in the light.
Within this context, the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) carries for ward its urgent work. As a statewide, member-led coalition of immigrant and refugee rights organizations, we know that our power is co together across regions, identities, and struggles to meet attacks with sol idarity. When we organize together, we call forth a future where Yorker belongs. In 2025:
• We advanced key legislative and budget priorities at the state and local levels, laying the groundwork for our ten-year Blueprint for Immigrant Justice
• We led over 210 train-the-trainer Know Your Rights (KYR) Workshops eventually reaching hundreds of thousands of participants.
• We responded to immigration raids across New York Street in NYC (where enforcement indiscriminately targeted street vendors and where rapid responders successfully prevented another enforcement action), in Rochester (where over 100 community members mobilized to protect community members at a construction site), and in Cato (reuniting dozens of workers with their communities after more than 70 were kidnapped in one of the state’s largest raids).
• We led or joined more than 40 statewide mobilizations and rallies bringing out a total of over 1.5 million New Yorkers collectively, protesting unlawful detentions, demanding basic human rights for detainees, and speaking out against the cruel and violent escalation of immigration enforcement.
As conditions have intensified, so too has our approach. Drawing on our decades of organizing work and deep relationships across the state, the NYIC has expanded beyond our core programming to meet the moment. We are proud to share our annual impact report with you, and we hope you will stand with us as we continue this critical work throughout 2026 and beyond.
In solidarity,
Murad Awawdeh, President and CEO of the NYIC
“When we organize together, we call forth a future where every New Yorker belongs.”
Power in Coalition
Serving Members and Communities
During a year of extraordinary pressure on immigrant communities, the NYIC strengthened the collective power of our community partners and 200 member organizations, ensuring they had the tools, resources, and solidarity needed to deliver critical services across New York State.
• The NYIC and our member organizations served more than 2.5 million immigrant New Yorkers.
• The NYIC invested over $8.4m in direct grants to member and partner organizations in FY25.
• We hosted 38 online briefings attended by over 4,000 registrants with up-to-the-minute updates on key immigration issues.
• We delivered 158 targeted training sessions, equipping 1,292 individuals with critical skills (over 40% of whom deepened their engagement by returning for multiple NYIC trainings).
• Over three dozen organizations were engaged in leadership and/or capacity-building programs like the NYIC VISTA program, the Organizing Institute, and Coro NY’s Immigrant Civic Leadership program.
Stand Up, Fight Back
Organizing Community Power and Rapid Response
Organizing on the ground and convening community power has never been more critical for both our immigrant neighbors and for the broader commu nity. Equipping ourselves with the knowledge and tools to understand our rights, respond to enforcement actions, and protect ourselves, our neigh bors, and our families is essential in moments of crisis.
• The NYIC organized Neighborhood Defense Committees thousands of participants on how to protect their communities.
• We led over 210 Know Your Rights (KYR) Workshops 20,000 participants and providing our members with of our resources.
• We provided 13,000 units of legal service applications; securing the release of wrongfully detained individuals; and offering critical support across New York State.
• We held 20 legal clinics statewide, expanding access to free legal guidance and resources, and demonstrating highly efficient pro se service models.
• We launched a CourtWatch program and to ensure families are notified when individuals attending court appointments are kidnapped and detained.
• We delivered four intensive 40-hour Comprehensive Overview of Immigration Law training programs different organizations throughout every region of the state.
“Equipping ourselves with the knowledge and tools to understand our rights”
When We Fight, We Win
Through coordinated advocacy and bold policy initiatives, we are reshaping New York to protect immigrant rights, expand opportunity, and build lasting power for our communities. In 2025, we successfully advocated for budget and legislative priorities that advance protections and deliver critical resources for immigrant communities.
• We won $78.4 million for immigrant legal services in NYC (an increase of $51 million over the prior year), expanding access to legal representation and due process for immigrant New Yorkers.
• In partnership with other advocates, we advocated for the NYC City Council to make Intros 431, 408 and 1251 law, reducing criminal penalties for street vendors and expanding licenses.
• NYC City Council also approved $1.4 million for the Community Interpreters Bank , increasing the availability of trained community interpreters for immigrant New Yorkers, which will improve access to healthcare, legal, and social service systems.
• The final FY26 NY state budget allocates $64.2 million for FY26 to support immigration legal services resettlement support for newly arrived immigrants and refugees, helping families stabilize, access services, and build long-term security.
• Rochester and Buffalo passed a Sanctuary City law which limits local involvement in federal immigration enforcement.
• Murad Awawdeh joined the NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani transition committee to uplift immigrant community needs in city policy and advise on leadership appointments.
Say it Loud, Say it Clear: Immigrants are Welcome Here!
In the face of increasingly negative rhetoric and widespread misinformation, the NYIC has been a trusted voice, providing accurate, actionable information and boldly advocating for immigrant New Yorkers.
• 4,210 media hits and millions of impressions expanded NYIC’s reach and amplified immigrant voices statewide and nationally.
• The NYIC’s social media posts reached millions multiplying our ability to inform communities across New York and the nation.
• The NY Proud Campaign featured portrait and text-based art installations across subways, bus stations and billboards in NYC and Rochester. The campaign reached an estimated 21 million daily commuters in NYC and 2.8 million in Rochester amplifying immigrant voices and reinforcing a message of belonging at this critical moment.
NYIC BOARD of DIRECTORS
Carola Otero Bracco | Neighbors Link
Guillermo Chacon | Latino Commission on AIDS
Darnell Benoit | Flanbwayan Haitian Literacy Project
Megan Chambers Laundry | LDFS Union
Muzaffar Chishti | Migration Policy Institute at NYU School of Law
Michael Hirschhorn | mebl | Transforming Furniture
Paul Kim | Legal Consultant
Mae Lee | Chinese Progressive Association
Carmen Maquilon | Catholic Charities Diocese of Rockville Center
Cyrus Mehta | Cyrus Mehta and Partners, PLLC
Ping Moy | Retired Attorney and Healthcare Executive
John Park | Minkwon Center for Community Action
Margo Paz | UJA-Federation of New York
Mohammad Razvi | Council of Peoples Organizations
Annetta Seecharran | Chhaya CDC
Andrea Ó Súilleabháin | Partnership for the Public Good
Fatima Shama | Fresh Air Fund
Eddie Taveras | Political Strategist
Candis Tall | SEIU32BJ
Jessica Maxwell | Workers Center of NY
Teresa Gonzalez | Bolton St. Johns
Yesenia Mata | La Colmena
Shontell Plummer | Tusk Strategies
NYIC Regional Offices
Please contact info@nyic.org to connect with your regional office.
Headquarters | New York City
Capital Region | Albany
Finger Lakes | Rochester
Central New York | Syracuse
Western New York | Buffalo
Mid-Hudson Valley | Newburgh
Long Island | Hempstead
nyic.org/get-involved