Tell Lawmakers to Act Before it’s Too Late

Act Now

Collage with a red background. In the background, a podium with the New York State seal. In the foreground, a megaphone and a pair of hands signing a piece of paper.

Legislators in Albany are set to finalize our state budget any day now. These big budget bills are how so much of Albany’s work gets done, often including crucial proposals that can either help or hurt New Yorkers.

This year there are two important bills under consideration in these final days of negotiation. One would make sure immigrants facing deportation have a lawyer by their side. The other would help increase access to abortion care.

At the same time, three harmful policies are perilously close to passing. The first would take our state back to the dark days when people accused of crimes were forced to defend themselves with one hand tied behind their back. The second would endanger the rights and safety of people with mental illness. And the third would put students at increased risk of police searches and surveillance.

ADD YOUR NAME: Let lawmakers know how you feel about these pivotal policies.

Message Recipient:
Governor Kathy Hochul
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie
Senders’ reps

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Subject

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This year there are two important bills under consideration in these final days of state budget negotiations. One would make sure immigrants facing deportation have a lawyer by their side. The other would help increase access to abortion care.

I’m writing to urge you to take these actions during budget negotiations:

SUPPORT:

Ensuring the Right to Counsel for Immigrant New Yorkers

President Trump has shown he will break the law and defy the Constitution to fulfill his promise to carry out the largest mass deportations in American history. One of the best ways to fight against Trump’s efforts is to make sure New Yorkers facing deportation – including unaccompanied children – have a lawyer by their side.

The Access to Representation Act (S.141/A.270) would ensure that immigrant New Yorkers facing deportation have access to an immigration lawyer who can help them fight their case. Lawmakers must also commit to fully funding immigration legal services in this year’s state budget.

Promoting Hospital Transparency

As Trump and his allies across the country look to ban abortion nationwide, New York must do everything possible to be an abortion access state. A bill (S.3486/A.3862) that’s part of budget negotiations would give patients the ability to see whether the hospital in their area provides the care – including abortion care – they need. It would also lay the groundwork for increasing abortion care statewide.

OPPOSE:

Gutting Discovery Reform

Some state leaders are pushing a harmful proposal that would undercut landmark reforms which helped make our criminal legal system fairer. This proposal would gut our state’s “discovery law” and take us back to the days when people accused of crimes had to fight their cases without knowing the evidence against them.

This would all but guarantee more innocent New Yorkers plead guilty just to get out of jail.

Expanding Involuntary Commitment

Lawmakers are weighing making it easier to forcefully lock up people with mental illness who appear to be unable to provide for their own basic needs, even if they pose no threat to themselves or others. This would waste resources on a failed strategy of involuntary commitment and eliminate resources for proven strategies that actually make people healthier and safer.

Banning Smartphones in Schools

Lawmakers are considering banning students from using their cell phones at school. Educators across the state work with students every day to develop cell phone use policies that are sensible. But an outright cell phone ban puts students at risk of police searches and surveillance, suspensions, and getting funneled into the school-to-prison pipeline.

I’m counting on you to take these five steps to fight for a civil rights agenda in Albany.

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]

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Tell Lawmakers to Act Before it’s Too Late

Act Now

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