Comment on Immigrant issues loom large at Albany Latino conference

Immigrant and human rights groups reiterated Saturday their requests for more financial backing from the state as they prepare for upcoming and sustained legal battles with federal law enforcement agencies. At the annual Somos el Futuro conference held at Empire State Plaza, Latino officials, advocates and allies doubled down on their calls for funding for attorneys and lawyers fighting raids, detentions and deportations involving immigrant communities at the hands of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents. The Liberty Defense Project, as it's called, will assist nonprofits, pro-bono attorneys and law students who represent New York immigrants and will be funded through a $1 million partnership between the state and private foundations. With the April 1 state budget deadline near, groups like the Immigration Coalition reiterated their demands for, among other issues, a bill to allow children brought here by their undocumented parents to pay in-state college tuition.