Bill Text: NY S02516 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Directs the department of social services to establish a refugee resettlement program with the goals of achieving economic and social self-sufficiency, assisting victims of human trafficking, and assuring proper foster care for unaccompanied refugees.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-21 - REFERRED TO SOCIAL SERVICES [S02516 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-S02516-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2516

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 21, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced by Sens. GOUNARDES, COMRIE, FERNANDEZ, JACKSON, MYRIE -- read
          twice  and  ordered  printed,  and when printed to be committed to the
          Committee on Social Services

        AN ACT to amend the social  services  law,  in  relation  to  a  refugee
          resettlement program

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Legislative findings.  The  legislature  hereby  finds  and
     2  declares the following:
     3    a.  Under  federal  law 8 U.S.C. §1101 (a) (42), a refugee is a person
     4  who is forced to flee their country of origin or last habitation due  to
     5  persecution,  or  a  well-founded  fear of persecution, based upon their
     6  race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or
     7  political opinion;
     8    b. At the end of 2022, there were  108.4  million  forcibly  displaced
     9  people  in  the world, 35.3 million of which were refugees. This is more
    10  than double the recorded number in 2010, and the  highest  it  has  ever
    11  been;
    12    c.  Around two-thirds of refugees live in poverty, and many are unable
    13  to return to their home countries due to the lack of imminent  solutions
    14  to conflicts, recurrent violence, and political instability;
    15    d.  Less  than  1 percent of refugees will ever be resettled to a safe
    16  third country, enabling them  to  rebuild  their  lives  in  safety  and
    17  contribute to the cultural and economic fabric of a new home nation;
    18    e.  Recognizing  the  importance  of  refugee resettlement, the United
    19  States created the Refugee Act of 1980;
    20    f. Since 1980, the United States Refugee  Admissions  Program  (USRAP)
    21  has  saved more than 3.7 million refugees, and resettled them across the
    22  country;
    23    g. As of 2021, New York State resettled the third most refugees in the
    24  country;

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02698-01-5
        S. 2516                             2

     1    h. On September 19, 2016, the United  Nations General  Assembly  unan-
     2  imously  adopted  the  New  York  Declaration for Refugees and Migrants,
     3  which reaffirms the importance of the international refugee  regime  and
     4  contains  a  wide  range  of commitments to strengthen and enhance mech-
     5  anisms to protect these individuals;
     6    i.  Research from reputable sources including the Fiscal Policy Insti-
     7  tute, Urban Institute, Pew Research Center,  and  New  American  Economy
     8  find  a  positive economic and social impact of refugees across New York
     9  State;
    10    j. Governor Kathy Hochul reaffirmed New  York  State's  commitment  to
    11  helping refugees on August 19, 2021 by welcoming those fleeing Afghanis-
    12  tan;
    13    k. The Statue of Liberty, a national monument and icon of freedom that
    14  has  been  welcoming  immigrants from across the world to New York State
    15  since 1886, states, "Give me your tired, your poor,  your huddled masses
    16  yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse  of  your  teeming  shore.
    17  Send  these,  the  homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside
    18  the golden door!";
    19    l. The State of New York has been proud to  partner  with  the  United
    20  States  Citizenship and Immigration Services in assisting and resettling
    21  refugees from USRAP through its Bureau of  Refugee  Services,  which  is
    22  housed within the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance;
    23    m.  The  legislature  hereby  affirms,  with  this  act, its continued
    24  commitment to resettle refugees through the United States Refugee Admis-
    25  sions Program within the boundaries of this state for as long  as  indi-
    26  viduals around the world are displaced from their home countries.
    27    §  2.    Subdivision  3  of section 358 of the social services law, as
    28  amended by section 39 of part B of chapter 436 of the laws of  1997,  is
    29  amended to read as follows:
    30    3.  (a)  If  and  for  so  long as the federal government provides one
    31  hundred percent funding therefor, the department is authorized to  oper-
    32  ate  a  Cuban  and  Haitian  entrant program [and a refugee resettlement
    33  program pursuant to title IV of the federal immigration and  nationality
    34  act,  including  provision  for refugee cash assistance, refugee medical
    35  assistance, refugee child welfare services, and refugee social services.
    36  The department shall submit  the  plan  for  such  refugee  resettlement
    37  program to the federal department of health and human services and shall
    38  act  for  the  state  in any negotiations relative to the submission and
    39  approval of such plan and make any arrangement which may be necessary to
    40  obtain and retain such approval].
    41    (b) The department shall establish a refugee resettlement program,  to
    42  be  administered  by  the  bureau  of refugee services housed within the
    43  department. The department  may  contract  with  public  and/or  private
    44  nonprofit agencies as provided in 8 U.S.C. § 1522(e) in order to provide
    45  the  services  to refugees described in this subdivision. The department
    46  shall submit the plan for  such  refugee  resettlement  program  to  the
    47  federal  department  of  health and human services and shall act for the
    48  state in any negotiations relative to the  submission  and  approval  of
    49  such  plan and make any arrangement which may be necessary to obtain and
    50  retain such approval. Provided, however, that  the  provisions  of  this
    51  paragraph shall not be contingent upon one hundred percent federal fund-
    52  ing  as  described  in  paragraph  (a)  of this subdivision. The refugee
    53  resettlement program described in this subdivision may  be  funded  from
    54  the  federal and/or state government or governments, or political subdi-
    55  visions thereof.
        S. 2516                             3

     1    (c) The refugee resettlement program established in paragraph  (b)  of
     2  this  subdivision  shall have the core mission of directing resources to
     3  local public or private entities that assist refugees in:
     4    (i) achieving economic and social self-sufficiency;
     5    (ii) assisting victims of human trafficking; and
     6    (iii)  assuring  proper  foster  care  for  unaccompanied refugees and
     7  entrant minors.
     8    (d) Such refugee resettlement program administered by  the  department
     9  shall  partner  with public or private entities which assist refugees in
    10  the provision or promotion of: civic and  social  engagement;  mentoring
    11  services for youth; comprehensive case management; food, clothing, shel-
    12  ter,  school  supplies,  or  other  basic needs; employment and training
    13  services; English language  instruction;  community  school  activities;
    14  temporary  cash  and  medical  assistance;  programs  to increase health
    15  literacy; programs to increase access to public  and/or  private  health
    16  insurance;   initial  medical  screenings  and  immunizations;  programs
    17  designed to ease the transition of  school-aged  refugee  children  into
    18  elementary,  middle,  and  high schools; support services for victims of
    19  human trafficking; social and  supportive  services  for  refugees  aged
    20  sixty  or  older; foster care programs for unaccompanied refugee minors;
    21  and other social services programs created to meet other needs of  refu-
    22  gees as such needs arise.
    23    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.