Category: Press Statements
BxD Hosts Annual Celebration of Families
Last Friday, June 2, we hosted our annual Celebration of Families, welcoming 21 of our clients’ families to The Bronx Defenders’ Justice Campus for an evening of celebration. Every year we hold this intimate gathering to honor the families we have served through our Family Defense Practice and mark June as National Reunification Month. After […]
The Bronx Defenders welcomes its 2017 summer interns!
We are very excited to welcome our 2017 summer interns! The Bronx Defenders internship program gives students the opportunity to experience and learn client-centered, holistic advocacy through hands-on work with our interdisciplinary advocates. This summer BxD is hosting a total of 84 interns, including 61 law school students from 23 different schools who will undergo […]
BxD’s Emma Ketteringham Selected to be a Wasserstein Public Interest Fellow at Harvard Law School
The Bronx Defenders is proud to congratulate Emma Ketteringham, managing director of our Family Defense Practice, for being selected to be a Wasserstein Public Interest Fellow at Harvard Law School for the 2017-2018 academic year. Emma is one of a select few from across the country and around the world to be awarded this honor […]
Mayor de Blasio blasted for proposal denying free legal help to immigrants with certain convictions
“Under Mayor de Blasio’s proposal someone like me would not deserve free immigration representation. I believe this is cruel and unfair. No one should be judged by a single mistake. Life is hard in the city and even the best people make mistakes. New York City is my home. It is where my children were […]
BxD Urges Mayor de Blasio to Reconsider Position on Exceptions to City-Funded Immigration Representation
May 4, 2017, New York – In response to the ongoing debate between Mayor de Blasio and Speaker Mark-Viverito regarding City funding for the New York Immigrant Family Project (NYIFUP), The Bronx Defenders, one of three NYIFUP providers, issued the following statement: “At a time when we should be radically reimagining what it means to be […]
BxD Testifies Before City Council Committees Regarding DOI Report on NYCHA Policy of Permanent Exclusion
On April 24, 2017, Runa Rajagopal, director of The Bronx Defenders’ Civil Action Practice, presented written and oral testimony before the New York City Council Committees on Public Housing and Oversight and Investigations regarding a new report by the New York City Department of Investigation’s (DOI) on the New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) policy […]
The Trump Era Tests the True Power of Sanctuary Cities
Is the City of New York doing everything it can to ensure safety and due process for immigrant communities? In this interview with The New Yorker, BxD Managing Director, Justine Olderman had a simple answer: “Unless we take immediate steps to protect immigrants who seek redress in our city’s courts, we should stop calling ourselves […]
Bronx Defenders Asks NY Supreme Court to Compel NYPD to Produce Property Seizure Records
March 21, 2017, New York –The Bronx Defenders has asked the NY Supreme Court to compel the NYPD to appear at a hearing to explain its property seizure database and to produce internal records about policies and procedures involving millions of dollars in cash and property seized during arrests each year. The Bronx Defenders sued […]
BxD Applauds City Announcement of Right to Counsel in Housing Court
New York – The Bronx Defenders released the following statement in response to the Mayor and Council Speaker’s announcement they have agreed to create a universal right to counsel for low-income New Yorkers facing eviction. “We applaud Mayor de Blasio and the City Council for taking this historic step toward making NYC a more equitable […]
BxD Condemns Trump Immigration Orders, Recommits to Defending Bronx Immigrant Community
New York – The Bronx Defenders released the following statement in response to the Trump administration’s orders this week regarding new immigration policies: “The president’s actions this week threaten the well-being, safety, and rights of immigrant families in the Bronx and across the country. As an organization committed to serving one of New York City’s […]