A snapshot of the work we’ve done this past month.

Grassroots community organizations are increasingly becoming the lifeline for those facing immigration proceedings, particularly for minors who, unlike Liam, do not have immediate family members with them. In New York City, the Immigrant Children Advocates’ Relief Effort (ICARE) has connected unaccompanied minors with legal representation and other services since 2014.

Over the last several months, these chiefs of staff, deputy chiefs, legislative directors, and other office leaders engaged in discussions with policy experts, network, and built the skills to support them in their current roles and their future journeys in public service. 

“Though there is still a lot to build, local government has shown to be the level where there is the most trust, and I think the reason for that is a tighter feedback loop between the work that we do and the response we get from the community.” 

In theory, AI has incredible potential to help government and nonprofit entities improve the efficiency and quality of services. In practice, it also comes with questions and risks. CUNY ISLG is committed to understanding and using these tools responsibly and effectively, and has joined two initiatives to strengthen our ability to do so.

The 2026 Safety and Justice Challenge Research Symposium was an opportunity to reflect on the meaningful efforts and results of participating cities and counties, and dug into the expansive knowledge of what worked, what didn’t, and what should come next.

“I serve as a focal point, because everybody else on the team is specializing. The chief of staff is the one that needs to bring that all together and make sure it's heading in the right direction..”

In March 2026, ISLG partnered with the CUNY Graduate Center to convene leading researchers and practitioners to discuss how the police can us everyday interactions to strengthen trust and enhance public safety.

Studying real, case-level data from cities and counties reducing their jail populations has led researchers to a conclusion: pretrial reforms made through the Safety and Justice Challenge did not lead to rising rates of crime, violent of otherwise. Two new analyses show this trend on both a initiative-wide and county-specific level.