Is New York adequately serving immigrants? It’s hard to say.

The state comptroller’s office is out with a new audit of the Office for New Americans as the demand for legal services funding and support for immigrants has hit a fever pitch over the last several years. Its findings boil down to “we don’t know what we don’t know.”

The Office for New Americans, part of the state Department of State, primarily connects recent immigrants and other foreign-born New Yorkers with free resources, including legal services. It works with a network of nonprofits who receive grant money through ONA to assist immigrants with any number of matters from citizenship interview prep to removal proceedings. 

Immigrant legal services have come under strain in recent years thanks to an influx of migrants entering the state starting in 2022, and more recently thanks to President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. The new audit found that ONA doesn’t collect the data necessary to estimate potential unmet need and ensure that partner nonprofits have the capacity to meet that need. 

Wait times for services through ONA grant recipients can vary greatly, according to the audit, with the comptroller’s office getting estimates anywhere from no wait time to six months for citizenship application assistance. The office doesn’t collect information on the number of people who seek services through partner nonprofits that wind up never getting the help they sought, or the waiting time.

“New York has made significant investments in immigrant legal services, and more reliable information will help policymakers ensure these essential service needs are met,” state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli said in a statement. “Our audit found the state does not collect key data on unmet need, wait times and provider capacity. Having this information will facilitate identifying service gaps, evaluating program success and effectively targeting resources.”

The comptroller’s office began its audit of the Office for New Americans at the end of 2023 on the heels of the migrant crisis facing New York City placing strains on municipal resources. It was around that same time that legislators and immigrant rights advocates began pushing harder for the Access to Representation Act to create a right to an attorney in immigration court, along with funding for legal service providers to make that happen. 

Funding for ONA has increased in recent years, with a record $74.2 million allocated in this year’s state budget for immigrant legal services as part of the office’s overall $82.48 million budget. But service providers have reported being under stress, requiring more funding to hire and train attorneys, and serve underrepresented immigrant communities during the second Trump administration.

The need is especially stark upstate, according to a March report from The New York Legal Services Coalition. The comptroller’s audit came to a similar conclusion, finding that lack of organizations in the North Country with necessary U.S. Department of Justice accreditation “presents a continuing challenge.” 

Kelsey Pirnak, advocacy manager at the Vera Institute for Justice, applauded the audit for highlighting the need for clearer reporting to understand how to better serve immigrant communities and the benefits that ONA services provide. But they said adding new reporting mechanisms isn’t enough to support struggling service providers. 

“Providers need dedicated funding for staffing, technology, and infrastructure, so they have the capacity to conduct data collection and robust reporting, in addition to carrying out urgent direct services work,” Pirnak said in a statement. “Streamlined, timely contracting and disbursement, as well as flexible work plans, are also a key part of the solution for comprehensive reporting and effective service delivery.”

The audit does not include recommendations about funding streams, or whether the state should allocate the $175 million for immigrant legal services that many advocates called for this year. But the additional reporting requirements and standardization could provide ONA and the state with data that better informs the monetary question come budget time.

A spokesperson for the Department of State said it is pleased the audit – which examined operations from 2019 through 2024 – did not find any fraud or abuse in ONA. “At its core, this review confirmed that ONA has remained steadfast and effective in its continuing mission to establish a network of providers to successfully connect immigrant New Yorkers in need to free, trusted legal services and vital support,” the spokesperson said. “ONA stands proudly by its record and the positive impact it has had on the many thousands of New Yorkers whom ONA has helped through these turbulent times.”