
The Covenant | Equipping Houses of Worship | General Sanctuary Guidelines| Press Coverage
The Covenant on Behalf of the Newest New Yorkers
One year after the first buses sent by Governor Abbot of Texas pulled up at Port Authority, an estimated 59,400 migrants have joined the tens of thousands of New Yorkers already in need of housing.
In response, diverse faith leaders, secular activists, and volunteers from across the State launched “The Covenant on behalf the Newest New Yorkers”, which will call on government and faith communities to:
- welcome new arrivals into our City and State;
- see them appropriately sheltered;
- provide housing vouchers so they can move out of shelters;
- expedite work authorization;
- provide education and health services; and
- provide legal and pro se assistance with asylum applications
We invite you to take action with ICNY by adding your name to the Covenant here:
Equipping Diverse Houses of Worship
With the help of Trinity Grants, ICNY created the “Equipping Houses of Worship to Support Migrants” program in response to the rapid increase in migrants and asylum seekers arriving in New York City beginning the summer of 2022 to catalyze diverse houses of worship to provide support and shelter for asylum seekers. With this goal, ICNY 1) distributed small grants to diverse faith communities and 2) created a learning community that convenes virtually on a bimonthly basis to offer a shared scriptural reflection, receive and give technical assistance and problem solve, and develop advocacy strategies. In addition to addressing the immediate needs of migrants, this work builds the capacity of diverse houses of worship allowing them to take part in wider city-run bed stabilization proposed initiatives for the future.
Our work has helped fill in the gaps in the large-scale response to the asylum seeker crisis with the grassroots power of faith leaders and communities. As one member of the network described it, the work of this grant is crucial because no single response can be comprehensive.
Read Press Coverage of our Work:
Faith leaders join covenant to assist ‘newest New Yorkers’, Spectrum Local News
Amid the finger-pointing on the migrant crisis in NYC, new calls to do something – Gothamist
NYC Faith Leaders Urge Care for Asylum Seeker, Press Officials to Offer Same – Gothamist
Faith Leaders speak on Staten Island, reject hateful rhetoric on asylum seekers crisis – CBS News
Staten Island migrant shelter draws supporters and opponents – NY1
NYC migrant crisis: Dueling protests emerge over Staten Island shelter – Fox 5
Faith, community leaders gather to support migrants on Staten Island – abc7
Standing with Asylum Seekers Against Hate-Filled Attacks – The Bronx Daily
Lawmakers and Faith Leaders Discuss Ways To Support Migrants During Trump Admin