NEW YORK, (CMC) – As New York City (NYC) anticipates surpassing the highest recorded shelter census in recorded history, Governor, Kathy Hochul, has launched the Institute for Immigration Integration Research & Policy to help Caribbean and other immigrants transition to community life, and further their education and workforce in the United States.

Hochul said the institute, which received funding in the fiscal year 2023 state budget, will be housed at the Rockefeller Institute of Government, the State University of New York’s public policy think tank.

The launch of the institute follows Hochul’s mission to protect immigrants, including those who are undocumented, who were forced to leave their homelands.

“New York is built on the hard work and determination of generations of immigrants, and this Institute will work to improve the lives of those who are trying to build better lives for themselves and their families,” Hochul said.

“By clearing the boundaries for new New Yorkers, we can help to better integrate them into the New York community and access the New York dream,” she added.

She added that the announcement coincides with the selection of an advisory board of community leaders, who will set in motion ground-breaking policy development and select an executive director and assistant director in the coming months.

In addition, Hochul said on arrival, immigrants often struggle to learn English, help their children to assimilate in school, find safe and affordable housing, secure jobs with a liveable wage, secure transportation to commute and access available service.

She noted that the institute’s executive director and assistant director will analyse real-time immigration, economic, labour and other data, and identify potential solutions for policymakers to help build on the state’s commitment to supporting immigrants of all ages, nationalities and backgrounds.

In October 2021, the governor signed legislation classifying certain threats to report a person’s immigration status as extortion or coercion under New York law.

She indicated that the advisory board will provide the institute with guidance and recommendations with respect to research, programming, fundraising opportunities and community events.

Meanwhile, NYC Mayor, Eric Adams, last Friday issued Emergency Executive Order 224, formally directing all relevant city agencies to coordinate their efforts to support hundreds of asylum seekers, arriving in the city each day from Texas and other border states.

Adams also called for emergency federal and state aid to handle the continued influx of asylum seekers, as the city projects costs of more than one billion US dollars related to asylum seekers in the 2022 fiscal year, as well as expedited work permits, a national decompression strategy and a resettlement strategy.