NYC EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT’S LATEST ¡PREPÁRATE! PODCAST EPISODE TALKS WITH COMMISSIONER MANUEL CASTRO FROM THE MAYOR’S OFFICE OF IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS, AND THE AGENCY’S ROLE IN SERVING IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES IN NEW YORK

¡Prepárate! Click to listen to Episode 19

NEW YORK — When Manuel Castro crossed the Mexican border at 5-years-old with his mother, he never imagined where life would take him. Fast-forward to arriving in New York City, living in Sunset Park and Flatbush in Brooklyn, learning a new language, and earning a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Anthropology from Hampshire College, and a Master of Public Administration from the School of Public Affairs at Baruch College, City University of New York. Today, Manny Castro is the commissioner for Mayor Eric Adams’ Office of Immigrant Affairs.

Prior to joining the Adams’ administration, Castro was immersed in the diverse immigrant community of New York City. He served as the executive director of New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE), a Queens-based organization, and led federal and local public policy advocacy campaigns for the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), the largest and most diverse statewide immigrant coalition in the country. Positions, that according to Castro, combined with his personal experience as an immigrant, give him a deep insight into MOIA and the current asylum seekers crisis.

“I was honored to share my story on NYCEM’s ¡Prepárate! podcast,” said MOIA Commissioner Manuel Castro. “My work, along with the work of Commissioner Zach Iscol and his team continues to position New York City as a national leader during the asylum seeker humanitarian crisis. We hope this episode sheds some light on all of the hard work of the city as we continue to support all recent arrivals.”

On the latest episode of ¡Prepárate!, Castro discusses running a City agency dedicated to supporting over 3.2 million immigrant New Yorkers, how MOIA is assisting in facing the asylum seekers crisis, and the important role that immigrants have played in shaping New York City for generations.

You can listen to the latest ¡Prepárate! episode on SoundCloud.

Profile

Manuel Castro was appointed Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) in January 2022. He is responsible for running a City agency dedicated to supporting over 3.2 million immigrant New Yorkers. MOIA works to ensure immigrants access culturally and linguistically responsive services in partnership with agencies across the city and community partners.

Throughout his career, Castro has strongly advocated for immigrant New Yorkers. Prior to joining MOIA, Castro served as the Executive Director of New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE), a Queens-based organization working to create a world where immigrants can live and work with justice, dignity, and respect. Under Castro’s leadership, NICE developed a set-up of highly impactful and innovative programs and services aimed at strengthening the individual and collective capacities of immigrant workers, particularly those in the informal economy like day laborers and domestic workers. During the COVID-19 crisis, Castro led NICE as it remained open to help immigrant communities access emergency services. During this time, NICE dispersed nearly $4 million in direct cash assistance, distributed tens of thousands of pounds of food to immigrant families in need and helped thousands of immigrant workers apply for the state's Excluded Worker Fund (EWF).

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