Asian American Federation

More than 4.2 million immigrants live in New York State, including 600,000 individuals who are undocumented, in mixed-status households, or have special authorization to be present. Under the current federal administration, immigrants are facing the rollback of health care protections and access. Executive orders and proposals have created a climate of fear and uncertainty, especially for low-income and transgender immigrants. Immigrant communities are facing the potential for widescale untreated medical conditions, increased health disparities, and mental health problems, like anxiety and depression. New York’s immigrant-serving CBOs are on the frontlines, responding to urgent health care and mental health needs, advocating for immigrant and worker protections and policies, and countering anti-immigrant narratives in the media and public discourse. These organizations are stretched to the limit. In 2025, NYHealth awarded the Asian American Federation (AAF) a grant to provide services in urban and rural communities and coordinate activities across partners to support a broad statewide response. 

Under this grant, AAF will broaden culturally and linguistically competent social services, case management, and education for Asian immigrants across New York State. It will partner with 15 Asian-led CBOs in New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, and Utica to expand health care services to downstate and upstate immigrant communities. It will promote public understanding of key policies affecting immigrant families and host community education events. AAF will also advocate to advance immigrant health care protections and build a coordinated multilingual statewide safety net to connect Asian immigrants to services. 

NYHealth also awarded complementary grants to the Neighborhood Funders Group and Make the Road NY.