New York is steering $30 million toward Latino-serving nonprofits, but one piece of the immigration package Latino lawmakers backed in Albany, the mask restriction on law enforcement, is on hold by court order.
With Hispanic Heritage Month underway and the midterms roughly six weeks away, the distance between what the state funded and what the courts allowed is shaping how Latino leaders talk about immigration and the cost of living.
Where the $30 Million Is Going
The LUCHA Equity Fund traces back to the 2025 state budget, not the current one, and its first round of money went out in August, according to reporting carried by WSKG.
Three organizations run the program: the Hispanic Federation, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York and the Fund for the City of New York. Applicants numbered more than 460, filed by upwards of 350 groups, and awards followed a needs-based review.
Groups serving the Bronx landed the biggest share, $11.3 million, a bit more than a third of the first-year money. The roster of 44 organizations is provisional until state contracts are finalized.
Among the largest awards:
- $500,000 apiece for CoRe (Communities Resist), CAMBA and Forestdale
- $400,000 for NMIC, which will train 30 residents for certified nursing assistant jobs
- $220,000 for South Bronx United, funding paid job training for 16- to 24-year-olds
Federal Cuts Add Urgency
The Bronx Times notes the money arrives as nonprofits brace for the effects of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and expected pullbacks in federal support for social services. Hispanic Federation President and CEO Frankie Miranda framed the fund against what he called "historic defunding of services" by the federal administration.
Assemblymember Amanda Septimo announced that lawmakers have already locked in a second year of funding. Sen. Luis Sepúlveda said he hopes to work with colleagues to double the fund to $60 million in future budgets.
The Mask Ban Hits a Wall
Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the immigration measures in late May as part of the state budget. They covered a mask restriction for law enforcement, a ban on formal 287(g) partnerships between local police and ICE, and new limits on warrantless enforcement in places such as schools and hospitals, according to WXXI.
On Aug. 3, U.S. District Judge Mae D'Agostino issued a preliminary injunction against the mask restriction, ruling in a 51-page decision that the federal government is likely to prove the state's face-covering and identification rules regulate federal officers directly, in violation of the Supremacy Clause. She declined to block the 287(g) ban, calling it a legitimate way for New York to steer how state and local resources are used. The Trump administration had challenged both provisions.
Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James said the surviving ban is legal, while adding that their offices were "reviewing all legal options" on the mask ruling. Because the order is preliminary, the case continues, and state Sen. Pat Fahy said an appeal remains possible.
James had already sent letters to a dozen localities ordering them to cancel their 287(g) agreements, and Republican leaders in some of those counties said they would not comply.
New York for All Falls Short Again
Bronx Democrat Karines Reyes, who chairs the Legislature's Puerto Rican and Hispanic Task Force, co-sponsored the sweeping New York for All bill. It failed to pass once more, though several of its ideas reached the budget.
Reyes described the budget package as a compromise. In her account, the state addressed formal collaboration with immigration enforcement but not the quieter, informal cooperation between local officers and ICE, which she wants to take up next session.
Why Immigration Became a Ballot Issue
Luis Miranda, founding president of the Hispanic Federation, said the annual surveys of Latino New Yorkers conducted during his tenure consistently ranked affordability and crime first, with immigration absent from the top tier. His explanation: "It has become a top issue because Republicans have made it a top issue."
The Affordability Half of the Pitch
Capital District Latinos founder Dan Irizarry said conditions are improving but need remains steep, pointing to health care, nutrition and rights as pressure points.
Buffalo Democrat Jonathan Rivera, an assemblymember, faces no opponent in his November bid for a state Senate seat. He plans to prioritize housing and economic opportunity, arguing that better wages will keep drawing Latino families to upstate New York.
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