Immigrants have always been the backbone of the Sunset Park community. As Sunset Park grows and changes, more members of the community are undocumented immigrants who face increasingly complicated struggles. In response to the growing alarm among local service providers, Center for Family Life helped to organize a coalition of local organizations to begin to address the needs of the undocumented members of the community. As we began to discuss the issues facing these community members, it became increasingly clear that lack of legal status has tremendous impact on the health, education, financial well-being and safety of individuals and families.

The Sunset Park Coalition for New Immigrants was formed in September 2006 and is currently comprised of five member organizations: Center for Family Life, Chinese American Planning Council, Fifth Avenue Committee, Lutheran Medical Center’s Family Support Center, and Turning Point. As a group, the coalition is concerned about the unmet needs of undocumented immigrants and we seek to address these needs through research, advocacy, linkage building and social action. We are committed to serving this population through innovative responses that guarantee their basic human rights.

On May 23, 2006 the Sunset Park Coalition for New Immigrants hosted the Sister Mary Geraldine Symposium on Immigration Reform: National Challenges and Local Responses, our first major public event. Our aim was to bring together a group of dynamic thinkers to examine the current immigration policies in the United States that keep people without documents in the shadows. We also wanted to highlight ground-breaking programs that address the needs of the undocumented community in the face of a broken immigration system.

Chung-Wha Hong, Executive Director of the New York Immigration Coalition gave a skillful overview of the current immigration legislation and “best case scenarios” for immigration reform during the current legislative session. Dr. Peter Kwong, noted author and professor at CUNY Graduate Center and Hunter College, gave the keynote address in which he thoughtfully articulated the impact of the global economy on United States immigration policy. Other panelists included: Hector Cordero-Guzman, professor at CUNY Graduate Center and Baruch College, Tarry Hum, professor at Queens College-CUNY, and Reverend Terry Troia, Executive Director, Project Hospitality. Award winning Mexican-born photographer, Dulce Pinzon showed a series of her work entitled: The Real Life of Superheroes that highlights the heroic struggles of the undocumented worker in New York City.

In the future, the Sunset Park Coalition for New Immigrants hopes to partner with more local service providers and advocacy groups in order to better address the needs of new immigrants. Upcoming plans include community events/speak outs for undocumented residents of Sunset Park and the formation of a women’s housecleaning cooperative to support domestic workers in the neighborhood.