New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) is a left-of-center coalition that advocates for expansionist immigration policies. The NYIC has been increasingly active since the 2016 presidential election in response to immigration restrictionist policies proposed by President Donald Trump, opposing his administration on a number of immigration-related policies. NYIC is involved in a lawsuit against the administration to bar the U.S. Census Bureau from asking individuals about their citizenship status in the 2020 census.¹

The NYIC is also connected to the Women’s March and includes the controversial left-wing activist Linda Sarsour on its board of directors.

Background

The NYIC was formed in 1987 as a coalition of New York state-based groups after the federal government passed the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (known as the Simpson-Mazzoli Act), which provided opportunities for illegal immigrants to obtain legal status.² The coalition was formed with an interest in “unit[ing] immigrants, members and allies,” and has regularly lobbied for increased immigration into the United States as well the expansion of government-run entitlement programs for immigrants and refugees.³

According to the NYIC member list, the coalition consists of just under 200 organizations, including left-wing nonprofits, labor unions, and religious organizations. The list includes Human Rights First, New York State Nurses Association, the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the New York Civil Liberties Union Foundation, and the Catholic Charities affiliate for the Archdiocese of New York, among others.⁴

Advocacy Activities

“Greenlight” Campaign

The NYIC initiated a drive to convince the New York state legislature to provide driver licenses for illegal immigrants and spent more than $1 million in campaign advertisements in January 2019. ⁵ While the policy was originally proposed as early as 2007 by then-governor Eliot Spitzer (D), the NYIC has pushed for the policy again in opposition to the immigration policies of President Trump. The name “Greenlight” campaign comes from the Green Light NY coalition, which has led much of the activism in the New York state Assembly and has been the adopted name by other organizations with the same goal.⁶ The NYIC also hired Metropolitan Public Strategies, a political consulting firm that caters to left-leaning clients, to advise the campaign.⁵

2020 Census Citizenship Question

In March 2018, the Trump administration instructed the U.S. Census Bureau to include a question about the citizenship of respondents in the 2020 census. In response, the NYIC joined other plaintiffs in suing the administration with legal help from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled in favor of the NYIC and ACLU in January 2019.¹

Steven Choi, the executive director of NYIC, called the administration’s effort to ask about citizenship “part of a white supremacist agenda led by Kris Kobach and Steve Bannon,” referring to two Republican Party operatives with ties to the Trump administration.¹ As of January 2019 , the NYIC has petitioned New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) to support what it deems a “complete count” in the 2020 census. Part of the coalition’s demands includes at least $40 million be spent by New York State during the 2020 census with the goal of keeping all of the state’s 27 congressional districts in the U.S. House of Representatives, despite the likelihood that New York will lose up to two seats in the mandated reapportionment following the census.⁷

Women’s March Ties

The NYIC has several ties to the controversial Women’s March, as Linda Sarsour holds a senior position with both organizations. The Women’s March was originally known for organizing the “Women’s March on Washington” in January 2017 as well as marching in Manhattan in 2018. Women’s March board members Linda Sarsour, Carmen Perez, and co-president Tamika Mallory have publicly affiliated with and praised anti-Semitic Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. Mallory’s attendance at and promotion of a Farrakhan speech that featured numerous slurs toward Jews brought criticism of Women’s March, Inc. from Jewish organizations across the political spectrum and from the March’s left-of-center allies.⁸

NYC Rent Hikes

The New York Immigration Council has pushed for reform to make apartments more affordable for “undocumented people and asylum seekers” ⁹ in New York City. According to the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development, “Immigrants are more likely to live in unsafe and/or overcrowded housing, which led to fast COVID-19 spread in dense immigrant neighborhoods…” ⁹ According to the American Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, “Non-citizen immigrants specifically saw the highest rates of rent burdened households: 55 percent for those without children and 59 percent of those with children.” ⁹

People

Murad Awawdeh is the executive director of NYIC. He also works as the executive vice president for NYIC Action, the 501(c)(4) sister organization of NYIC, and was previously the executive vice president of NYIC. In addition, he serves as trustee of the New York University Family Health Centers Board as well as the Commissioner of the New York City Civic Engagement Commission. ¹⁰

Carola Otero Bracco is the Board Chair of the NYIC. ¹¹ She is also the Executive Director of immigration advocacy group Neighbors Link. ¹²

Linda Sarsour

Linda Sarsour is a controversial Palestinian-American activist¹³ who promotes intersectional left-wing activism to address a wide-array of left-wing issues.¹⁴ In 2017, Sarsour gained national prominence as a co-chair of the national Women’s March protest the inauguration of President Donald Trump. ¹⁵ While Sarsour is not listed on the NYIC’s website as either a board member nor an employee, she was listed on the coalition’s 2015 990 form as a “trustee.”³ In addition, though Sarsour was not mentioned by name in the NYIC annual report, she was photographed at the NYIC 30th anniversary gala in 2017.¹⁶

Funding

The NYIC has made over $10 million in revenue according to the coalition’s own 2022 annual report. The report also states that 50.50 percent of the revenue comes from foundations, 36.65 percent comes from the state and federal government, and 2.55 percent comes from “individuals.” ¹⁷

The organization’s 2017 annual report listed donors included the Arca Foundation, the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, and Unbound Philanthropy, and the Open Society Foundations (founded by philanthropist George Soros). In addition, the Tides Foundation is listed as an “individual” donor to the NYIC.¹⁶

1. New York Immigration Coalition. “Immigrant Plaintiffs Claim Victory In Census Question.” Common Dreams. January 15, 2019. Accessed January 17, 2019. https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2019/01/15/immigrant-plaintiffs-claim-victory-census-question.
2. “History – NYC, Long Island, New York State.” New York Immigration Coalition. Accessed January 17, 2019. https://www.nyic.org/about-us/history/.
3. “New York Immigration Coalition Form 990.” Guidestar. 2015. Accessed January 17, 2019. https://pdf.guidestar.org/PDF_Images/2016/133/573/2016-133573409-0e1bd8e2-9.pdf.
4. “MEMBERS – Web List.” Google Docs. Accessed January 17, 2019. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14497fqcAxDDBVGGKN6kf-TmQgXOrDGAMuTfLRNKqULo/edit#gid=0.
5. Lovett, Kenneth. “NYS’ Leading Immigration Group Kicking off $1 Million Effort for Drivers’ Licenses for Undocumented Immigrants – NY Daily News.” Nydailynews.com. January 14, 2019. Accessed January 17, 2019. https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-pol-immigration-drivers-licenese-cuomo-20190113-story.html.
6. NYIC. “Ready, Set, Greenlight Campaign For Driver’s Licenses For All New Yorkers.” New York Immigration Coalition. May 07, 2018. Accessed January 18, 2019. https://www.nyic.org/2018/04/ready-set-greenlight-campaign-drivers-licenses-new-yorkers/.
7. Mahoney, Joe. “Advocates Urge Cuomo to Fund Census Outreach.” The Daily Star. January 16, 2019. Accessed January 18, 2019. https://www.thedailystar.com/news/local_news/advocates-urge-cuomo-to-fund-census-outreach/article_581cfcd2-3a39-5109-8c89-67288ad18bc0.html.
8. Shire, Emily.  “Nine Days After Women’s March Co-President Shared the Love With Louis Farrakhan, the Group Got Around to Gently Rebuking His Anti-Semitism and Homophobia.” Daily Beast. March 16, 2018. Accessed September 19, 2018. https://www.thedailybeast.com/nine-days-after-womens-march-co-president-shared-the-love-with-louis-farrakhan-the-group-got-around-to-gently-rebuking-his-anti-semitism-and-homophobia?ref=author
9. Parra, Daniel. “City’s Immigrant Families Saw Higher Rates of Rent Burden, Overcrowded Homes in 2021: Report.” City Limits, November 18, 2022. https://citylimits.org/2022/11/17/citys-immigrant-families-saw-higher-rates-of-rent-burden-overcrowded-homes-in-2021-report/
10. “Staff.” New York Immigration Coalition, Accessed February 2, 2024. https://www.nyic.org/about-us/staff/
11. “Board of Directors.” New York Immigration Coalition, Accessed February 2, 2024. https://www.nyic.org/about-us/board-of-directors/
12. “Carola Otero Bracco.” LinkedIn, Accessed February 2, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/carola-otero-bracco-b7a86568
13. Hing, Julianne. “Facing Race Spotlight: Palestinian-American Activist Linda Sarsour.” Color Lines. October 24, 2014. Accessed March 27, 2018. https://www.colorlines.com/articles/facing-race-spotlight-palestinian-american-activist-linda-sarsour
14. “Linda Sarsour.” Politico Magazine. Undated. Accessed March 27, 2018. https://www.politico.com/interactives/2017/politico50/linda-sarsour/
15. Rosenberg, Eli. “A Muslim-American Activist’s Speech Raises Ire Even Before It’s Delivered.” NY Times. May 26, 2017. Accessed March 27, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20170708055506/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/26/nyregion/linda-sarsour-cuny-speech-protests.html
16. “Annual Reports – NYC, Long Island, New York State.” New York Immigration Coalition. Accessed January 17, 2019. https://www.nyic.org/about-us/annual-reports/.
17. “The New York Immigration Coalition 2022 Annual Report.” New York Immigration Coalition, Accessed February 2, 2024. https://www.nyic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/NYIC010-SNGLPG_NYIC_AnnualReport_Feb2023__R7_MechSINGLE-PGS.pdf