Adhikaar’s Newsletter: January-March 2024
Adhikaar is in New Jersey!
Nearly 8 years ago we began organizing Domestic Workers in New Jersey in 2017 in Jersey City. Since then, our membership has expanded across the state, and we saw a need for a community center to support our community members who live and work in NJ.
On April 7, we officially opened our new office in New Jersey! It will be Adhikaar’s first community and worker center for our Nepali-speaking community members outside of New York. The opening was graced by our community members, partner organizations, and long-term supporter New Jersey State Senator Raj Mukherji of District 32.
Services
In the last quarter, we won a wage theft case judgment of $49,808 from the NY Department of Labor for a wage theft case that began in 2017. Our legal partners at Takeroot Justice led the lawsuit and Adhikaar supported the member every step of the way by providing language interpretation and translation, along with social and emotional support - centering our community lawyering work.
Also, from November 2023 to January of this year, we supported 241 community members with their TPS re-registration applications through our free legal clinics. As many of our community members work in low-income industries and have limited English proficiency, we saw a need for language and culturally competent service to help navigate and understand the complexities of their cases in the language they are comfortable with.
The free legal clinics were delivered in partnership with the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG), Catholic Migration Services, TakeRoot Justice, Queens Community House, City Bar Justice Center, and Nepali lawyers from our community including the Law Offices Of Chanda Thapa PLLC, Bigyata Timilsina, and Bashu D. Phulara, P.C. In total, we held 18 clinics at our community center for TPS re-registration.
Call us today if you’d like to enroll in the NYC Care program. It is a healthcare access program that guarantees low-cost and no-cost services to New Yorkers who do not qualify for or cannot afford health insurance. All NYC Care services are provided through NYC Health + Hospitals. In the last quarter, we’ve supported 129 members in enrolling for the NYC care.
Advocacy + Organizing
Immigration Program: Our Fight for TPS Justice Continues!
In the last quarter, after six years of fighting, the legal team and plaintiffs announced the end of the Ramos/Bhattarai v. Mayorkas lawsuit. Over the previous six years, the lawsuit has successfully continued to protect TPS holders after the Trump administration terminated TPS for Nepal, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Sudan. Thanks to the bravery of the plaintiffs representing these countries, and our member leaders Keshav Bhattarai and Sajjan Pandey who were plaintiffs representing Nepal in the lawsuit, almost 400,000 people from all six countries were able to maintain status, work permits, health insurance, and other benefits. Due to the lawsuit, the Biden administration announced an extension for Nepal TPS until June 24, 2025, and we are prepared to continue fighting for TPS justice until we win a redesignation of TPS for Nepal.
At this year’s International Women’s Day, or “Nari Diwas” we celebrated with the theme “Women's Leadership in Immigrant Rights.” We celebrated and reflected on Nepali-speaking women's leadership in advancing TPS justice since 2015 and gathered hundreds of members to the full day event. We also organized a panel with our member leaders, including Bhattarai/Ramos v. Mayorkas lawsuit plaintiffs Keshav Bhattarai and Sajjan Pandey, and member leaders Nima Sherpa and Namrata Pokharel. They shared their stories on why they are involved in the TPS campaign and actions they took over the past years, like speaking at rallies in DC and NY, sharing their stories with electeds, and organizing other members to take action. This was a joyous moment to celebrate our victories so far and also organize for TPS redesignation campaign.
With our growing TPS/Immigration membership base in Texas, our immigration team went to Austin in March and organized a TPS information session for dozens of Nepali-speaking members who were interested in engaging in the TPS Redesignation campaign. It was also an opportunity to meet our community members in person, connect with them and educate them on our TPS Redesignation campaign plan. During our stay, we also met with staff at RAICES, a legal service provider and immigration services organization local to Texas, to build better relationships for our local Texas members who need immigration-related services. We also engaged with Congressman Lloyd Doggett’s staff in a meeting at their local office with members who live in the district to advocate for a redesignation of TPS status for Nepal.
Nail Salon Program: All Hands In for a Just and Equitable Industry
Earlier this year In January, our Nail Salon member leader Kalpana shared her story during a lobby visit to the NY State Capitol about being a nail tech, and why the industry needs to change — due to poor working conditions and no fixed income. She urged the NY State electeds to fight for the health, safety, and dignity of all Nail Salon workers by passing the Nail Salon Minimum Standards Council Act. Workers sharing their stories can be a powerful way to move decision-makers! Kalpana’s story was so inspiring that Assemblymember Jen Lunsford agreed to cosponsor the bill on the spot - bringing our total number of supporters to XX in the State Assembly.
Youth and Civic Engagement Program: Building Intergenerational Community
In March, Adhikaar youth members came together for our first youth event of the year. It was led by our youth leaders Aayushma, Lubina, and Prasidika. Together they planned the entire agenda and facilitated all the discussions and activities. One of the agenda at the event was the group breakouts where members chose the area they would like to get involved in — workshops, campaigns, and member leadership. Each group was led by the youth leaders where they brainstormed on workshops they would like to have, campaigns they’d want to get involved in, and how to organize and recruit new youth members. Through this discussion, we were able to learn about our youth's area of interest — this will help us organize effectively and also plan for our new fiscal year starting July 2024.
During the event, we also discussed the importance of voting as the Presidential Primary election for New York was around the corner. We distributed bilingual civic engagement-related information flyers in Nepali and English that helped our youths better understand the topic and share the materials with their parents and friends at home to encourage them to vote.
Adhikaar in News
New York Times,“How to Protect Millions of Workers Without a Union”
TruthOut, “Absent Union Representation, NYC Nail Salon Workers Are Organizing Themselves”
North Jersey, “Nonprofit serving Nepali domestic workers opens office in North Jersey as community grows”
Nepali Times, “Seeking identity in diversity”
Khasokhas, “नेपाली लगायतको टीपीएस खारेज विरुद्धको कानुनी लडाईमा वादीहरुबाट विजयको घोषणा”
Nepalese Diaspora, “टिपिएसको एउटा मुद्दा ६ बर्षपछि अन्त्य”
