Transparency and efficiency in our immigration and criminal legal systems is vital to us surviving. So many families who face deportation and incarceration - overwhelmingly immigrant families and families of color - slip into poverty conditions while enduring forced separation, detention, and incarceration.

The #ClemencyJusticeAct is the bare minimum our community deserves: a fair, transparent, accessible clemency application process. Instead, our immigrant women, queer folks, and elderly who are in detention centers and prisons endure violence and neglect.

Assia Serrano, mother of two, was incarcerated for actions she was forced into by her abuser. After release, she wasn't reunited with her family. She was deported before her hearing to stay in the U.S.

From 2017-2020, New York received over 6,400 immigrant clemency applications and granted only 1.5% of those. Even when clemency applications are submitted, our families often wait years for an update.

We desperately need the #ClemencyJusticeAct, which creates more transparency and relief from forced separation.

In bringing New York a stronger and more fair clemency process, I urge you to support the Clemency Justice Act.