In First Year, Center Submitted More Than 58,000 Work Authorizations, Temporary Protected Status, and Asylum Applications
Our Bureau
New York, NY
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has announced that following the city’s Asylum Application Help Center’s first anniversary, the center has won the American Bar Association’s Hodson Award for distinguished public service for its work helping asylum seekers submit applications for work authorization, temporary protected status (TPS), and asylum. The award — named in honor of the distinguished public service career of the late Major General Kenneth J. Hodson, a former judge advocate general of the U.S. Army — recognizes sustained, outstanding performance or a specific and extraordinary service by a government or public sector law office.
“New York City has done more than any other locality across the country to manage the asylum seeker crisis, and a key part of that work is helping our newcomers take their next steps towards independence by helping them submit vital and complicated work authorization, TPS, and asylum applications,” said Mayor Adams. “This well-deserved award is a credit to our creative and dedicated team, who created this first-in-the-nation center and have supported more than 58,000 applications — that’s tens of thousands of individuals and families who are this much closer to the American Dream. And if we get the federal changes we need to make it easier for even more people to work, we’ll be able to do that much more. My thanks to the American Bar Association for recognizing this incredible, impactful work.”
“Since the first asylum seekers arrived in New York, we’ve worked hand-in-hand with Mayor Adams and his administration to provide resources and support,” said New York Governor Kathy Hochul. “Thanks to our partnership with Mayor Adams and his administration, we’re making real progress on work authorization and case management. Migrants came to this country to work — so we’re coordinating our efforts to put them to work.”
“In just one year, our help center has become a beacon of hope and support, reflecting our city’s dedication to upholding the American Dream and providing essential services to those in need,” said Chief of Staff Camille Joseph Varlack. “This recognition underscores our unwavering commitment to serving asylum seekers with compassion and excellence. We are honored to receive this award and remain steadfast in our mission to serve our community with compassion and care.”
“In just one year, the Asylum Application Help Center has helped complete more than 58,000 applications, work authorizations, and temporary protected status applications,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom. “We know that this work is part of a complex federal process, but our teams have worked incredibly hard to help every individual and family that came through the doors of the center. Our teams also enlisted the help of law firms, academic institutions, and philanthropies to build out this effort including support from the state government to create satellite sites to reach even more people. Thank you to our teams leading this work, setting a standard for the nation, and thank you to all those that have contributed over the last year.”
“The backbone of the Asylum Application Help Center is our dedicated corps of supervising attorneys, application assistants, and operational staff who show up every day with creativity and positivity to assist our newest neighbors,” said City Hall Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg. “We are deeply grateful to all who have answered the call to serve at the center, and for the support of Governor Hochul, the federal government, and our dedicated partners from the educational, nonprofit and corporate community. Together, we have not only helped file over 58,000 applications but have been recognized by the American Bar Association as a model for the nation.”
“Today, we celebrate a major milestone in our response to this national humanitarian crisis with the one-year anniversary of the Asylum Application Help Center,” said Office of Asylum Seeker Operations Director Molly Schaeffer. “In collaboration with our state and federal partners, the center has helped migrants and asylum seekers submit over 58,000 applications for asylum, work authorization, and TPS. New Yorkers do what we do best in times of crisis: we develop creative solutions, and we’re proud that we’ve created a national model that helps people take the next steps in their American journey.”
“As an immigrant, helping thousands of families take the next step in their journey to security and stability is an honor of a lifetime,” said Asylum Application Help Center Executive Director Masha Gindler. “I am grateful to the American Bar Association for recognizing the hard work and irreplaceable talent of the center’s application assistants, supervising attorneys, and site management staff on our one-year anniversary.”
In the Asylum Application Help Center’s first year, the city has helped migrants and migrant families in the city’s care submit more than 58,000 applications for work authorization, TPS, and asylum. The Asylum Application Help Center has expanded to five locations in two boroughs, and co-hosted successful satellite clinics in partnership with the state of New York, which has supported the center with $40 million in funding; the federal government; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP; New York Law School; and Educational Alliance. It has welcomed almost 2,000 volunteers from universities, law firms, and corporations. Thousands of asylum seekers assisted by the Asylum Application Help Center have already been granted work authorization, TPS, and asylum.
