Federal agents can no longer use New York police or jails to help detain immigrants after two new laws banning local municipalities from cooperating with federal immigration agents went into effect.
Read MoreMore than a dozen Queens lawmakers signed on to a letter with around 100 other elected officials calling on federal Democrats to push for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Read MoreA bill that would create a formal process for long-time incarcerated individuals to get a judge to reconsider their sentence was passed by a key Senate committee last month, creating the first real opportunity in years for the bill to become law.
Read MoreWhile an expansion of the state’s prison oversight agency went into effect over the weekend, the agency cannot function until the governor and legislature appoint new board members, advocates warned this week.
Read MoreAdvocates and lawmakers recently rallied in support of a bill that would eliminate a number of court fees, which they say are often immense financial and emotional burdens for working class New Yorkers.
Read MoreA new report from a Queens state senator’s office contends that violence and racism are endemic throughout New York State prison’s system, and calls on the legislature to pass reforms to prevent a repeat of the crises that engulfed the prisons last year.
Read MorePrison reform advocates blasted last-minute changes made by the governor to a prison reform bill she signed into law last week.
Read MoreAdvocates on Tuesday demanded the governor sign a package of bills meant to reform the state’s troubled prisons, a year after the killing of Robert Brooks put a spotlight on the worsening conditions behind bars.
Read MoreWith a little over a month until lawmakers return to Albany, lawmakers and advocates reignited a multi-year long effort to reform the parole process for elderly incarcerated individuals.
Read MoreRepresentative Nydia Velázquez announced Thursday night she will retire next year, opening up a new primary for a congressional seat in Queens and Brooklyn.
Read MoreSuicides in state prisons have soared in the last several years, and solitary confinement is a leading contributor, a new report claims.
Read MoreWhile the threat of a mass legal aid strike in the city has passed, over 100 attorneys and staffers at a trio of legal services providers have remained on the picket line with little hope of returning to work any time soon.
Read MoreQueens Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas has filed to primary State Senator Jessica Ramos for her Western Queens seat next year.
Read MoreA new federal civil rights lawsuit was filed against the prison guards accused of brutally beating and killing 22-year-old Messiah Nantwi while he was incarcerated, arguing his constitutional rights were violated.
Read MoreThe New York State Legislature passed a package of prison reforms on the last day of the legislative session, sending the bills to the governor’s desk. However, the governor has not indicated if she plans to support the package or not.
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