CBS News: Seeking asylum: An immigrant’s journey to America
“Seeking asylum is not a privilege, it’s a right. Every single human being in the world has that right. People think it’s a gift. It’s not. It’s an obligation.” In a powerful documentary by CBS News, our immigration attorney Luis Mancheno sheds light on the arduous process he and other asylum seekers have faced in…
POLITICO, WNYC, UNIVISION, others cover dual press conference
There has been a 1,200% increase of ICE enforcement in our courthouses from 2016 to 2017, having a chilling effect on the ability of people to seek justice in our courts. In order to ensure that all New Yorkers have the right to seek justice and enjoy the protections of our judicial system, advocates gathered…
Human Rights Watch: New York City: Don’t Exclude Certain Immigrants from Legal Services
A carveout under NYC’s administration excludes immigrants with certain criminal convictions from receiving city-funded immigrant legal services, including representation in deportation proceedings. As a public defender office and provider of universal defense for immigrants in removal proceedings, we are guided by a fundamental belief in due process and liberty not for some, but for all….
Executive Director Justine Olderman speaks at NY1’s Town Hall on the NYC opioid crisis
“If we do what we’ve always done — over criminalizing, over incarcerating, carving people into those who are worthy of our compassion and those who are not, those who are worthy of treatment and those who are not — we are going to repeat the mistakes of the past. What is clear is that we…
City & State: Criminal justice reform would protect immigrants from deportation
In order to truly protect immigrant New Yorkers from ICE and keep our families and communities whole, we must recognize how deeply intertwined all of the various justice systems are. Justine Olderman, Executive Director of The Bronx Defenders along with Tina Luongo, Attorney-in-charge of the Criminal Practice at The Legal Aid Society and Lisa Schreibersdorf,…
The Appeal: Two States Just Made It Easier to Take Babies Away from Mothers Who Use Drugs During Pregnancy
“Termination of parental rights is a mechanism by which families are turned into strangers, all contact and personal identity is erased, and families are destroyed forever.” In states across the country, including Arizona and Kentucky, legislation is being passed that would make it easier to terminate the rights of mothers who use controlled substances while…
WNYC: NYPD To Release Records On Seized Assets
“The NYPD initially denied a 2014 public records request from the Bronx Defenders for detailed records on seized assets. The group sued the department in 2016 under the New York’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). As part of the lawsuit settlement filed in state court Monday, the NYPD is agreeing to give records for one…
The New York Times: Surest Way to Face Marijuana Charges in New York: Be Black or Hispanic
No matter what reforms have been implemented or heralded, the racial disparities in marijuana arrests have persisted. Though black and white people use marijuana at roughly the same rate, black people were arrested on low-level marijuana charges at eight times the rate of white people across New York City over the past three years. Hispanic…
BxD’s Lauren Migliaccio speaks with Telemundo
Lauren Migliaccio, attorney in our Immigration Practice, sits down with Telemundo to shed light on ICE’s use of call-in letters as a way to trap immigrants and how this practice has devastating repercussions for our clients and their families. Watch the interview here.
The New York Times: Cash Is Still Hard to Find in New York City Courthouses
“You find examples like this in every corner of the criminal justice system. Nothing ever works quite the right way.” Scott Levy, Special Counsel to the Criminal Defense Practice, speaks with The New York Times about the lack of accessible ATMs in the Bronx courthouses. Read the piece here.
The Intercept: ICE Evades Sanctuary Rules by Using NYPD Fingerprints to Find Immigrants and Send Them Call-in Letters
Sarah Deri Oshiro, Managing Director of the Immigration Practice, and immigration attorney Lauren Migliaccio speak with The Intercept on ICE’s recent adoption of call-in letters as a way to trap immigrants. We have witnessed firsthand how ICE is further exploiting the deep fear felt in immigrant communities by sending letters to people after they have…
The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, WNYC, others cover filing of class action
The Bronx Defenders filed a lawsuit against the City of New York and the NYPD for illegally using and sharing information from sealed arrest records in defiance of long-standing privacy laws. The class action was announced in a press release and covered by the publications: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New…
The New York Times: Boehner Benefits From Weed. Blacks Are in Prison for Using It.
“The reality is that when a problem has a white face, the government and law enforcement agencies are more likely to react sensibly to that problem. As white people make money from marijuana, black people languish in jail for smoking it.” The Bronx has one of the country’s highest rates of marijuana arrests. Every day,…
NYU Law News: Justine Olderman ’98 succeeds Robin Steinberg ’82 as executive director of The Bronx Defenders
“There was no psychological divider between the communities the organization was serving and the people who worked for the institution. And everything I discovered about The Bronx Defenders was consistent with that messaging to clients—we are here for you and with you.” Justine Olderman, Executive Director of The Bronx Defenders speaks with her Alma Mater,…
NICHQ: Our Systems Meant to Help Are Hurting Black Families
“I’ve seen too many black mothers separated from their babies at birth. What’s even more concerning is that these calls largely revolve around issues of economic insecurity, such as lack of food and stable housing, rather than abuse.” Mandated reporting by health providers can disrupt the health and well being of black families, ultimately causing…
The New York Times: Don’t Let the Police Wreck Stop-and-Frisk Reforms
“Most people think we won the stop-and-frisk case in 2013, when a federal court ruled the New York City Police Department’s use of the practice was unconstitutional. But ultimate victory depends on whether we reform the police practices that drove unlawful stops and arrests.” Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, Deputy Director of our Impact Litigation Practice, along…
amNewYork: City’s public defenders urge lawmakers to pass ‘critical’ criminal justice reforms
“The time for meaningful reform has come. Impacted communities and the greater public – your constituents – now recognize the profound injustices that Albany has permitted to exist for decades, while other states have taken action to fix the problems. We need genuine change, and we need it this year.” The Bronx Defenders joined with…
Jezebel: How the Child Welfare System Criminalizes Black and Brown Motherhood
“When we listen to reporting in the media that tends to be pro-removal of children, parents are bad, black mothers are bad…you’re reading that more than you think. Pay attention and listen to it, and recognize the historical origins of that in this country. The quickness with which white women have told black and brown…
BxD’s Justine Olderman Interview with BronxNet TV’s “Today’s Verdict”
“What we’re trying to do is redefine public defense and in doing so, transform the way that people are treated in our justice system…we go wherever the client goes and we defend that client by whatever means necessary.” Justine Olderman, Executive Director of The Bronx Defenders sits down with BronxNet Community Television’s “Today’s Verdict” with…
USA Today: When cops lie under oath, prosecutors must take some blame
“As a public defender, I have seen innocent people’s lives devastated by charges resulting from lies by police…But police do not go straight from the street to the witness stand.” In this USA Today op-ed, Supervising Criminal Defense attorney Michael Bloch calls for prosecutors, the gatekeepers who usher police through the criminal justice system, to…
Quartz: The case for Spanish-speaking courts in places like the Bronx—and all over the US
“Simply put, Spanish-speaking Americans rarely receive their constitutional right to a fair and speedy trial. ‘If we’re trying to have a fair justice system, then we need to make the justice system accessible to the constituents and make it reflect the community,’ Morales says.” In this interview with Quartz, Jodi Morales-Vargas, an attorney in our…
BxD’s Sarah Deri Oshiro speaks with NY1 Noticias’ Pura Política
Sarah Deri Oshiro, managing director of our Immigration Practice speaks with NY1 Noticias about the urgent need for ICE to stop targeting New Yorkers who are seeking due process and for the New York State court system to prohibit ICE from entering our courthouses. Watch the interview here.
In Justice Today: NYPD Agrees To New Rules Limiting Its Seizures of New Yorkers’ Property
“The settlement has far-reaching reforms that will require the NYPD and the Bronx DA to make significant changes to the way they handle these processes. When someone is arrested, they’re supposed to get a voucher indicating what property has been taken. That wasn’t happening on a regular basis, and now as part of this settlement,…
Teen Vogue: SNAP Benefits Are Important to Young People in the United States
“The proposed change is ill-informed, overly bureaucratic, and further punishes and stigmatizes low-income children, young people, and families who rely on this crucial nutrition assistance. Working with thousands in the Bronx community every year, we know how difficult it already is to qualify for and maintain SNAP benefits, due to highly restrictive eligibility requirements. These…
New York Law Journal: Accord Struck in Suit Over NYPD Withholding of Seized Property
“The New York City government has reached a settlement with plaintiffs attorneys in a suit challenging the police department’s retention of seized cash and property in criminal cases in which the city has agreed to implement a set of reforms.” The New York Law Journal covers our recent settlement in Encarnacion v. City of New…