S 7564: Establishes a coordinator for asylum seeker services to oversee the integration of services and benefits available to asylum seekers.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7564 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE April 22, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. CLEARE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing a coordi- nator for asylum seeker services The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 4-c 2 to read as follows: 3 § 4-c. Coordinator of asylum seeker services. 1. The governor and the 4 mayor of the city of New York shall jointly appoint a coordinator of 5 asylum seeker services. The coordinator shall oversee the integration of 6 services and benefits available to asylum seekers who are currently 7 living or arriving in New York state with the following state agencies: 8 the office of temporary and disability assistance; the departments of 9 state, education and health; the office of children and family services; 10 the division of homeland security and emergency services; as well as 11 applicable local and federal agencies. 12 2. The coordinator shall be responsible for a systemic response to the 13 various needs of asylum seekers including, but not limited to, intake, 14 resettlement across the state, support services, health care, housing, 15 education, language services, transportation, accessing federal programs 16 and services, and advocating for federal legislation and policies 17 related to immigration. 18 3. For the purposes of this section "asylum seeker" shall refer to an 19 individual who changes their country of usual residence to seek tempo- 20 rary or permanent residence in another country, and who has applied for 21 asylum under 8 U.S. Code § 1158 or is eligible to apply; or who is a 22 refugee as defined by section 101(a)(42) of the Immigration and Nation- 23 ality Act (INA). 24 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD04088-01-5