IRI Presents at SOMOS

Immigration Research Initiative’s Ashleigh-Ann (Ace) Sutherland participated in the Unemployment Bridge Program & Digital Ad Tax panel discussion during the SOMOS Conference in Albany this month. The SOMOS Conference is a time for elected officials, activists, policy experts, community members and more from diverse backgrounds to come together to discuss and celebrate a range of issues and priorities.

Also on the panel were New York State Assemblymembers Karines Reyes and Marcela Miaynes and representatives from the National Day Laborer Organizing New York (NDLON). Yonkers Sanctuary Movement, Releasing Aging People in Prison (RAPP) Laborers Local 79, Street Vendor Project and Equality New York.

Ashleigh-Ann is a transgender non-binary activist and had the unique opportunity to not only speak on the policy and the numbers behind the Unemployment Bridge Program, but as a representative from Equality New York, they also spoke on how the queer and trans communities will benefit from the passage of this bill.

The Unemployment Bridge Program is a permanent solution to the ongoing issue of workers behind excluded from the State Unemployment Benefit Program.

Stay tuned for additional policy discussions and actions around the Unemployment Bridge Program during the New York State legislative session.