Haitian TPS and Medical Assistance Eligibility
January 28, 2010
Haitian applicants for Temporary Protected Status will be eligible for New York's publicly funded medical assistance program if they meet all other financial and non-financial eligibility requirements. Read More

Empire Justice Center's Legislative Agenda 2009-2011
January 16, 2010
The Summer issue of the Legal Services Journal highlighted many legislative initiatives for 2009-2011 and provided a “Legislative Scorecard” on those initiatives with detailed articles on a broad array of issue areas. This article will review those initiatives and add to the Legislative Scorecard as we move into the New Year. Read More

United States Overturns Entry Ban on Immigrants with HIV
January 16, 2010
This past October, President Barack Obama announced that the twenty-two year travel and immigration ban on persons with HIV/AIDS would be overturned, effective this month. The ban was enacted in 1987 by the Department of Health and Human Services and resulted in the exclusion of thousands of students, tourists, and refugees. Read More

Understanding Special Immigrant Juvenile Status
An Advocates Call to Action
January 16, 2010
There are few groups in the United States more vulnerable than undocumented and unaccompanied immigrant children. The circumstances of their arrival in the U.S. include fleeing dangers and natural disasters in their home countries, separation from family members, abuse, neglect, abandonment and being the victims of crimes such as human trafficking and child labor. Read More

Survivor Stories
A Look into the Lives of Immigrant Clients
January 16, 2010
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was passed by Congress in 1994. Among many other protections, VAWA created special provisions in United States immigration law to protect immigrant victims of domestic violence. The VAWA Self-Petitioning process allows a battered spouse of a United States citizen or Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) to break free from the sponsorship control that an abusive spouse may have over the undocumented immigrant and petition on their own (self-petition) to gain legal status in the United States. Read More