October marks the 25th anniversary of Make the Road New York (MRNY), the state’s largest grassroots immigrant-led organization that has been striving to aid arrivals for a quarter of a century — and, according to organizers, their services have never been more vital.
This anniversary comes amidst the massive and controversial migration crisis that has seen more than 118,000 migrants flood into the Big Apple. And with the city stating that their resources are running on empty, MRNY is providing assets for immigrant Latin and Black communities, distributing toiletries, food, school supplies and even legal services. This comes alongside the organization’s longterm work of protesting against private prisons, immigrant detention centers, mistreatment of delivery workers, and other social justice issues.
Julissa Bisono has been working with MRNY for 23 years and has watched the organization blossom into a hub for those in need of service and a platform for immigrant rights. She currently serves as co-director of organizing at MRNY, but she began her tenure at just 15 years old during a Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP).
MRNY and the Latin American Integration Center merged in 2007 to become the wide-spread community organization it is today, which Bisono said has helped foster a sense of hope, reinforce immigrant rights and civil liberties for many low-income community members of color.
“[I started] helping people register to vote even when I wasn’t old enough to vote. It made me understand the reason why it’s important for us to fight for our rights and for our justice. So, I got plugged in and I became a member,” Bisono said. :The following year, I started working with the incoming youth from the Summer Youth Employment Program, and I’ve been there ever since.”
Bisono told amNewYork Metro that when the organization was in its early stages, the group fought and won after pressuring the government to implement language access with interpretation in hospitals, schools, and other facilities as well as driver’s licenses for all, regardless of immigration status.
“We’ve been able to pass a lot of like immigrant focus legislation that will really like help out,” Bisono said. “We’ve also most recently helped pass the historic Excluded Workers Fund in 2021.”
During former President Donald Trump’s administration, MRNY led protests at JFK Airport following the Jan. 27, 2017 against his executive order that suspended refugee and citizens of Muslim countries entry into the United States. They also made a rallying call for the New York Dream Act and more.
Over the past two years, MRNY has also doubled down on assisting the influx of migrants arriving in New York and urged the Biden administration to extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans so that they can receive work permits and start contributing to the economy. Bisono shared that MRNY has been with the asylum seekers since they first started arriving at Port Authority, and that the group continues to offer services for those in need.
“We have seen the current administration has not responded in a way, in a matter, that has been helpful for these folks that are coming here for better conditions, for a better life, because back in their countries it’s not working for them,” Bisono said.
Now, MRNY is putting all of its past expertise and knowledge from the past 25 years to aid new arrivals who are lost in a new land. Still, like any grassroots organization, they say they can only pick up so much slack, leaving them to criticize the city and state for their handling of the crisis.
“The way this administration has been handling this has been unacceptable. So, a lot of community-based organizations like ours have stepped in and have provided folks with helping parents help enroll their kids in schools, provide them cell phones, and we have helped them get to shelters,” Bisono said. “We have helped provide them with the basic needs and on how to navigate New York City from finding a shelter, to helping them with the schools, with helping them with basic applications.”
