Long Island Language Advocates Coalition

06/09/2026

06/09/2026

There is a great deal of helpful information on the PIF website. Please also remember that NY State has some additional programs for immigrant eligibility for Safety Net Assistance and for Medicaid coverage which may not be reflected here.

Eligibility changes adopted last year are still rolling out, and immigrant families are confused about who still qualifies for which basic needs programs. Help them get the answers they need, using these immigration status-specific eligibility changes snapshots. https://pifcoalition.org/resources/library/changes-to-immigrant-eligibility-chart/

06/09/2026

We stand in solidarity with the hunger/ labor strikers and all people detained at Delaney Hall, as well as their families. Please see here if you would like to help.

06/08/2026

https://www.usccr.gov/news/2026/usccr-releases-report-language-access-individuals-limited-english-proficiency

WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights released its report examining language access for individuals with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). The report was unanimously approved by a bipartisan group of Commissioners and formally transmitted to the President and Congress as pa...

06/05/2026

Nobidy should be forced to sign documents in a language they don't understand or punished for not doing so. The civil rights of our fellow human beings are being severely violated on so many levels. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/alligator-alcatraz-detainees-say-guards-deny-them-food-and-clean-water-until-they-sign-english-documents/ar-AA24Un5B?

Detainees at Florida’s notorious “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration jail said guards were denying them food and fresh water on Thursday until they signed documents presented to them in English that they did not understand. In an audio recording of a telephone call to an immigration advocacy grou...

05/27/2026

The new federal regulations restricting non-citizens' ability to obtain CDL licenses has nothing to do with language proficiency or road safety, and everything to do with demonizing immigrants and undermining their ability to survive, which, in the long run, hurts all of us.

Rule prevents many immigrant truckers from renewing driver’s license – even if they’ve driven legally for years

04/28/2026

“The United States government has created the perfect storm for terrorizing immigrants,” said Delia Addo-Yobo, U.S. Senior Staff Attorney at the Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center. “ICE agents have been emboldened to conduct masked raids and arrest people off the street solely for how they look or the language they speak. Mr. Lucero’s case shows that these actions have consequences. When you dehumanize an entire group of people, you open the door to violence.”

2008 murder of Ecuadorian immigrant points to broader threats against Latino community amid targeted arrests and masked ICE raids.

04/28/2026

There is no Google App to translate messages into the Rohingya language, so local law enforcement and immigration authorities could not have possibly used it to communicate with a Rohingya refugee, as they had claimed. In the wake of the death of Nurul Amin Shah Alam, the Rohingya community is organizing to bridge communication barriers , to prevent similar tragedies. and to collectively organize for the passage of NY 4 All.

Buffalo’s Rohingya community pushes for NY state law to protect immigrants after Nurul Amin Shah Alam’s death

04/22/2026

Long Island has been hit hard by ICE and local agency collusion, which have led to racial profiling and the separation of immigrant families. We are grateful to Osman Canales and to the many rapid responders who work tirelessly to protect and support our immigrant neighbors.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/22/nyregion/ice-arrests-long-island.html?unlocked_article_code=1.c1A.asVG.eLEp6Z-8NT3R&smid=nytcore-ios-share&fbclid=IwY2xjawRV0vJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeG-DnXOl2wy1av579Wm3ctfF7i9KtiiJBkOCS6V18EdfFuwXMh5Y6fKdtOj4_aem_8OrIaBTcpab7EZt7ogPZgw

Migrant arrest rates have been high in places like Long Island, where federal agents benefit from stealth and the aid of local politicians.

04/17/2026

Interpreters bridge communication gaps and literally save lives. They should not be vilified or targeted by ICE because of their language, ethnicity or skin color... nor should anyone else.

Meenu Batra, the state’s only licensed Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu interpreter, says she was treated ‘like a criminal’