April 1, 2026
On April 1st, Documented NY highlighted a new Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund report finding that Asian immigrants in New York City face severe barriers to immigration legal help due to language gaps, unaffordable lawyers, and other factors. Tommy Lee, Program Supervisor at CPC's ONA Opportunity Center, said the program has seen nearly double the applications in the past year. He shared the case of a CPC client detained by ICE after missing a check-in due to a car accident. The client's wife, who does not speak English, turned to CPC's afterschool program, where staff made dozens of calls to find legal help. Jack Hsia, Senior Attorney of Community Legal Services at CPC, added that free and private immigration attorneys said they were already overwhelmed with cases and did not have the capacity to take on this case, so CPC stepped in to handle it.
