Deputy Mayor Su, DCWP, MOIA, SBS and TLC Spoke with Ethnic Media Outlets; Highlighted Work to Empower Consumers and Workers and Prevent Harmful Mergers
NEW YORK, NY (TIP): Yesterday, Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su, Commissioner Samuel A.A. Levine of the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), Commissioner Faiza Ali of the Office on Immigrant Affairs (MOIA), Commissioner Midori Valdivia of the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC), and Deputy Commissioner Kitty Chan of the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS) hosted an ethnic media roundtable and Q&A session to inform immigrant New Yorkers of their rights, including worker and consumer protections. The agencies invited a diverse array of print and broadcast outlets serving various immigrant communities providing direct access to an administration deeply committed to immigrant New Yorkers.
Deputy Mayor Su highlighted the Mamdani Administration’s commitment to centering the immigrant workers in their affordability agenda and worker focused initiatives seen under the portfolio of Economic Justice. DM Su referenced Executive Order 13 as a foundational tool for the city to ensure that all workers, regardless of immigration status are protected from workplace discrimination and unsafe conditions. The Executive Order signed by Mayor Mamdani, strengthens the city’s sanctuary laws and mandates greater Know Your Rights outreach to immigrant New Yorkers including workers.
MOIA Commissioner Ali started the roundtable by sharing about the City’s critical Know Your Rights materials, guidance on federal enforcement in the workplace, and the agency’s immigration legal fraud prevention work. Commissioner Ali further outlined MOIA’s aforementioned Know Your Rights material that are serving as a key resource for immigrant community members seeking to gain a better understanding of their rights both at home and at the workplace. She stressed that this outreach is supported by collaborations with the agencies present to create the numerous awareness campaigns as well as the Worker’s Bill of Rights.
Later in the roundtable, DCWP Commissioner Levine discussed the release of the results of a March 2026 enforcement sweep of over 270 Immigration Assistance Service Providers (ISPs) across the five boroughs, finding Brooklyn to have the highest violation rate during this set of inspections. Commissioner Levine highlighted the results of DCWP’s latest enforcement sweep of Immigration Assistance Service Providers (ISPs). Levine also addressed Western Union’s proposed $500 million acquisition of fellow money remittance corporation Intermex. In a comment submitted to the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS), the Mamdani Administration expressed serious concerns that the merger will hurt working families and immigrant communities who rely on money transfer services. In addition to a 1% excise tax on cash remittance transactions imposed by the recent federal omnibus budget reconciliation bill, the merger threatens to impose a new private tax on these same remittances in the form of higher, supracompetitive prices that will flow directly to Western Union’s corporate coffers.
TLC Commissioner Valdivia emphasized the importance of ensuring that the immigrant drivers under her commission felt support and had access to measures that strengthen their ability to drive safely across our city with dignity. She further spotlighted TLC’s new driver engagement, a first-of-its-kind driver survey, that is designed to gather direct input from licensees, guiding the policies, priorities, and initiatives of the agency to help promote working-class immigrant voices and uplift economic justice under the Mamdani administration.
Finally, SBS Deputy Commissioner Chan and SBS Chief of Staff Haris Khan, both elevated several programs that immigrant business owners, street vendors, and entrepreneurs can utilize. Programs like Workforce 1, NYC Business Express Service Team (BEST), and the upcoming NYC Small Business Month Expo on May 28th serve as key resources for the City to support immigrant businesses through partnership, collaboration, and education.
“Immigrant New Yorkers are a critical part of the fabric of New York City. We want immigrant New Yorkers to know that they have the same labor and human rights as all workers. They should not be afraid to submit a complaint if their rights are being violated and they should know that this administration will leverage all of our power to defend them,” said Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su.
“Today’s roundtable brought together key City agencies with media professionals whose reporting serves New York’s immigrant communities as a critical source of news and information, and connection,” said DCWP Commissioner Samuel A. A. Levine. “In a moment where we see ICE dragging people out of hospitals and disappeared off the street, and where multimillion dollar mergers threaten immigrants’ economic stability as seen through the proposed Western Union and Intermex merger, DCWP is committed to reaching immigrant New Yorkers directly and helping them understand their rights as workers, consumers and small business owners.”
“Immigrant New Yorkers power our restaurants, construction sites, small businesses, nail salons, delivery networks, healthcare systems, and transportation infrastructure. Given their contributions, we have a responsibility as City government to ensure every worker is treated fairly, paid fairly, and protected from exploitation and abuse, regardless of immigration status.” said MOIA Commissioner Faiza Ali. “Across our administration, we are working to ensure immigrant New Yorkers can safely participate in the economy, report violations without fear, and access the resources they deserve.”
“We are taking a whole-of-government approach when it comes to protecting the hardworking immigrants who power our city, and today’s event, which saw agency leaders engaging directly with ethnic and community media, reaffirmed that,” said Taxi & Limousine Commissioner Midori Valdiva. “More than 90 percent of TLC drivers are immigrants, and per miles driven, they’re the safest drivers in the city. They protect us every time they get behind the wheel, and it’s only right that we help to protect them.”
“SBS is proud to partner with our sister agencies across government to provide the services and resources immigrant small business owners and workers need to thrive,” said SBS Deputy Commissioner Kitty Chan. “From financing assistance, our Workforce1 system, NYC BEST, and our marquee NYC Small Business Month Expo, we are proud to do the work of elevating the immigrants that make New York City the place we all know and love. Thank you, Deputy Mayor Su, Commissioner Ali, Commissioner Levine, and Commissioner Valdivia for hosting this roundtable, helping us reach more immigrant New Yorkers where they are.”
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