We are delighted to announce seven new sustained response grants from our Immigrant Rights Fund that address long-term issues affecting Brooklyn's immigrant communities. Our grantees are working to meet a variety of pressing needs in the borough, from growing local advocacy and expanding access to inclusive immigration legal services, to launching community safety campaigns in response to rising xenophobia.    

Sustained Response

Grants that address long-term challenges facing immigrant communities across Brooklyn ranging from $10,000 to $25,000.

• Arab American Association of New York: $25,000 to support immigration legal services for the Arab American community that has been deeply impacted by ongoing policy changes targeting immigrants from Muslim majority nations. 

AAANY focuses on advocacy and civic engagement on policing, immigration, wage reform, Islamophobia, and school reform. Currently the largest legal provider in southwest Brooklyn, AAANY provides frontline support on asylum and family reunification cases.​​

• AsylumConnect: $10,000 to support the development of their resource catalog for LGBTQ individuals seeking asylum across Brooklyn and New York City. 

An estimated 5% of U.S. asylum claims are based on persecution of sexual orientation or gender identity, which suggests that there are over 40,000 currently pending LGBTQ asylum cases in the United States. AsylumConnect is the first ever resource website and app designed specifically for LGBTQ individuals seeking asylum, serving as a comprehensive digital lifeline that connects people to safe, verified resources.

• Black Alliance for Just Immigration: $15,000 to support community organizing, legal clinics and language access for Black Muslim immigrants. 

Black immigrants make up only 7% of the immigrant population in the U.S., but make up 20% of immigrants facing deportation on criminal grounds. BAJI has been doing extensive educational outreach to the community to inform them that transit based arrests, including skipping the fare, can be used in deportation proceedings.​​

• Brooklyn Defender Services: $25,000 to support rapid response legal efforts and their role in suing ICE to improve legal representation for those in custody. 

BDS provides services to over 45,000 court-involved people annually. They coordinate volunteer-driven legal representation, and have also taken on community Know Your Rights  education work under the request of the Mayor’s Officer for Immigrant Affairs and the New York Immigration Coalition.​

• Desis Rising Up & Moving (DRUM): $15,000 to support advocacy, organizing, community-defense and the “Hate Free Zone” initiative launched in Kensington, Brooklyn. 

In addition to their "Hate Free Zone" work that fights against community surveillance and the xenophobia that has surged during the Trump administration, DRUM provides workplace rights education. DRUM significantly expanded this work in response to the death of an undocumented worker from the community who died at a Brooklyn construction site without seeking medical attention for fear of legal repercussions. ​

• Muslim Community Network: $15,000 to support community outreach and education efforts, and self-defense workshops in response to rising Islamophobia and increased incidents of harassment particularly affecting Muslim women. 

MCN's workshops are coupled with interactive presentations on topics that impact Muslim Americans' lives, from immigration and public policy issues, to opportunities to engage with elected officials, and participation in calls to action and community service. MCN has reached more than 3,000 community members throughout New York City thus far.

• Sakhi for South Asian Women: $15,000 to support community outreach efforts for planned expansion of services for Bangladeshi women in Kensington, Brooklyn. 

In 2018, Sakhi provided case management to 350 women, of which at least 15% are or were Brooklyn residents, and received 1,300 calls on their helpline. Sakhi engages clients in job skills training, civic integration programs where they learn to navigate systemic barriers in city services, and education on their legal rights. 
 

Pledge your support to Brooklyn’s immigrant communities:

Give to the Immigrant Rights Fund today

100% of contributions will directly support vital immigrant-serving nonprofits