The Migrant Relocation Assistance Program helped families leave crowded shelters and put down roots. Trump’s immigration crackdown is upending that.
The Migrant Relocation Assistance Program helped families leave crowded shelters and put down roots. Trump’s immigration crackdown is upending that. ·  View in browser
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ICE has detained or deported members of at least 19 current or former MRAP families around Rochester, Buffalo, and Albany since Trump took office. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
The Migrant Relocation Assistance Program helped families leave crowded shelters and put down roots. Trump’s immigration crackdown is upending that.
By Isabelle Taft
State lawmakers approved the Migrant Relocation Assistance Program in spring 2023. Office of Governor Kathy Hochul
The initiative to resettle asylum seekers outside New York City reached half the targeted number of familes. ICE has deported some participants.
By Isabelle Taft

A state program to resettle immigrant families outside of New York City enrolled its last participants this summer. The Migrant Relocation Assistance Program, or MRAP, helped thousands escape crowded shelters and establish livelihoods in communities across the state. But its rollout was slow, it faced backlash from county governments, and it ended up helping around half the families it hoped to. Tens of thousands left city shelters with no relocation support.

Now, some members of families who found stability through the program are being arrested and deported — swept up in President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, as New York Focus reported this week.

What was the embattled program?

“Everyone is saying, ‘Only three days left,’ and I have no idea what to do,” said one aslyum seeker. “In the end, you don’t know what’s true or not.” Illustration: Akash Mehta
The Trump administration’s lack of clarity about when and how to pay new fees sparked chaos and misinformation among immigrants with pending asylum applications.
By Liv Veazey

Funding local news is more important than ever, and it will take a village to succeed. Join us in our work to rebuild local journalism as a pillar of democracy in New York.

One activist group recently released a pledge not to vote for Governor Kathy Hochul in her reelection bid if she allows the NESE gas pipeline to be built. Photo: Office of Governor Kathy Hochul | Illustration: Leor Stylar
Pipeline opponents say that approving NESE could bite Hochul in next year’s elections.
By Colin Kinniburgh

New York energy regulators gave their blessing last week to the Northeast Supply Enhancement Project, a Trump-backed gas pipeline that would serve New York City and Long Island.

With the approval process now in its 11th hour, opponents are doing everything they can to step up pressure on the governor.

The seven-member Public Service Commission, which oversees the state’s utilities, found that the pipeline is needed to ensure the reliability of the downstate gas system. The ruling does not seal the pipeline’s fate; the commission does not have a formal role in approving the project. That will be up to the state Department of Environmental Conservation, which has promised a decision by the end of November. But the commission’s ruling helps pave the way for a final green light.

The Essential Plan has enabled New York to offer near-universal health insurance coverage — but hundreds of thousands of people on the plan could soon be dropped. Card: NY State of Health | Illustration: Leor Stylar
Massive changes are coming to the state’s comprehensive, low-cost healthcare plan.
By Jie Jenny Zou

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Staying Focused is compiled and written by Alex Arriaga
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