By: Victoria Keraj
The CUNY Immigration Assistance Project (CIAP), a rapid response legal resource, was launched for access in the 2025 fall semester to help those affected by the recent federal administration’s immigration policy changes.
“The university is expanding the scope of services that we offer to the CUNY community,” stated Monique Francis, the interim executive director of Citizenship Now, in a CIAP webinar.
The webinar, held on Sept. 9, was the first of a monthly information series intended to inform and update CUNY students, faculty, and staff on immigration policy changes and available resources.
CIAP offers consultations with an attorney on topics pertaining to immigration to all CUNY community members and the 24/7 rapid response component allows for immediate assistance if someone is detained. CIAP assists in locating and contacting the detainee and providing information on the court process and a bond hearing.
During the webinar, CUNY supervising attorney Elinor Drucker Rahmani went over the process of securing a bond after being detained.
If a CIAP attorney assesses that the detainee is not subject to mandatory detention before a court hearing, they will then review the documentation necessary for the bond hearing. While CIAP attorneys offer information and resources, they do not provide representation in court.
According to Maite Junco, Senior Vice Chancellor for Communications and Marketing at CUNY, “In February, Chancellor Matos Rodriguez convened the Immigration resource working group coshared by [Junco] to monitor the impact of immigration policy changes on the university community and to keep leadership updated.”
The Immigration resource working group created a CUNY page tracking Immigration law updates.
Previously discussing recent law updates, Managing attorney Shawn Rahman stated, “To say that recent immigration policy and enforcement is in flux is a huge understatement. It seems like every couple of days we have this back and forth of executive actions that is countered by court rulings [and] people who are suing the government.”
The Laken Riley Act, passed on Jan. 29, expanded the list of charges someone who entered without valid entry documents would need to be charged with to be subject to mandatory detention. The charges include burglary, theft, shoplifting, and larceny. While not included in the Laken Riley Act, Rahman stated that minor crimes such as not paying the subway or bus fares and public drunkenness could also affect immigration status.
To avoid expedited removal, the process of deportation without a hearing, before the policy’s expansion, immigrants would need to present proof that they had resided in the U.S for at least 14 days. The expansion to expedited removal, passed on Jan. 21, increased the amount to 2 years. Included in the act was the removal of the limitation that individuals could only be apprehended within 100 miles of the U.S international border.
Cynthia Carvajal, CUNY director for immigrant and undocumented students, emphasized that CUNY resources, such as the Immigrant Student Success Centers, along with policies, are available to all CUNY students regardless of immigration status.
“CUNY does not consider immigration status as part of admissions for our campuses,” Carvajal stated, “Oftentimes folks may misinterpret [policy updates] and will assume that these types of privileges are being taken away as well, but that’s not the case.”
New York State education laws would also allow access for immigrants to in-state tuition and tuition aid regardless of federal immigration policy changes.
Another webinar is scheduled for October, but a specific date has not been announced.
For resources available to Brooklyn College students, visit the Immigrant Student Success Office on campus in 117 Roosevelt Hall or send an email to ISSO@brooklyn.cuny.edu.