Home 4 the Holidays

As we celebrate the holiday season, we’re reminded that our country’s violent immigration and carceral systems continue to separate thousands of New Yorkers from their families and communities. 

For Assia Serrano, Ricky Williams, Christopher Simmons, and other New Yorkers who face deportations and de facto life sentences, this forced separation is no accident. They are the direct result of our immigration and carceral systems which are anti-Black and designed to continuously punish immigrants and people of color. 

Clemency can’t undo the injustice of these systems, but it can provide immediate relief by freeing people from deportation and incarceration, reuniting them with their loved ones. Yet New York’s record of granting clemency is shameful, and it continues to be under the current Governor. Since 2021 when Governor Kathy Hochul took office, she has granted only 43 clemencies, out of thousands of applications from New Yorkers whose lives continue to hang in limbo.

Historically, New York’s Governors have announced clemency decisions during the holidays in December. As we anticipate these announcements this year, we’re ramping up pressure on Governor Hochul to boldly exercise this power and grant clemency to Assia, Ricky, Christopher and other New Yorkers who await clemency.