Department of Labor

Division of Immigrant Policies and Affairs

DIPA's Mission

The Division of Immigrant Policies and Affairs (DIPA) - formerly the Bureau of Immigrant Workers' Rights - assures that the services, programs, and protections of the Department of Labor (DOL) are available to all workers. This includes the large and growing group of people who moved to New York from another country.

Immigrants in the State of New York

• Immigrants make up more than half of all New Yorkers serving as nursing, psychiatric and home health aides; maids and housekeeping cleaners; and taxi drivers and chauffeurs. They are also more than 30 percent of the State's accountants and auditors; construction laborers; childcare workers; cooks; waiters and waitresses; and janitors and building cleaners^[1]
• Immigrants as a proportion of total population in selected Upstate Cities and Regions, 2014^[2]
  • Buffalo: 8.8%
  • Western NY: 5.2%
  • Rochester: 9.1%
  • Finger Lakes: 6.2%
  • Albany: 11.2%
  • Schenectady: 13.3%
  • Capital Region: 6.4%
  • Syracuse 11.8%
  • Central NY: 5.1%
  • Utica: 18.2%
  • Mohawk Valley: 5.2%

Refugees in the State of New York

• New York is also among the leading states in welcoming refugees, with more than 35,000 settling in the State over the past decade^[3]
• Individuals born outside the United States and their children make up nearly a quarter of the population in Utica; for Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany and Schenectady, the figure is more than 10%^[4]
• Upstate New York resettled 4,745 refugees (94% of all refugees resettled in FFY 2016)^[5]
  • Erie: 1800
  • Onondaga: 1242
  • Monroe: 737
  • Albany: 457
  • Oneida: 411
  • New York: 242
  • Broome: 33

Regionally in the State of New York

Long Island^[6]

• El Salvador 14%, India 7%, the Dominican Republic 4% and Jamaica, Haiti, Ecuador, and Italy (all at 4%)
• 61% of immigrants on Long Island live in families making in excess of $80,000 per year
  • 47 % in families making between $80,000 and $199,999
  • 14 % in families making $200,000 or more
• 16 % of immigrants live in families earning less than $40,000, compared to 10 % of U.S.-born families
• 23% of all the owners of small businesses located on Long Island are immigrants. Of the 62,000 owners of businesses located on Long Island, 14,000 are immigrants, generating earnings to business owners of $1.06 billion, or 18% of all small business owner earnings

Hudson Valley

• In the Hudson Valley, immigrants make up 13 percent of the population (and double that in Westchester County)^[7]

Northern New York

• In Northern and Western New York, immigrants make up five percent of the population, and are in fact often doing economically better than their U.S.-born counterparts, with many professors, doctors, and engineers who are immigrants.
• However, there are immigrants-often refugees, and some unauthorized immigrants-who are struggling to get by in very low-wage jobs.

Western New York

• In Northern and Western New York, immigrants make up five percent of the population, and are in fact often doing economically better than their U.S.-born counterparts, with many professors, doctors, and engineers who are immigrants.
• However, there are immigrants-often refugees, and some unauthorized immigrants-who are struggling to get by in very low-wage jobs.
• The ten most populous immigrant and refugee communities in Erie County hail from Afghanistan, Bhutan, Burma, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Central Africa, and Eritrea

DIPA's Programs

Anti-Human Trafficking Efforts: DIPA continues to participate in local, state, and federal anti-trafficking meetings, and conduct outreach presentations on identifying and providing appropriate referrals for potential trafficking victims.  Additionally, DIPA continues to train frontline DOL staff on human trafficking and workplace crimes. 

DIPA is also a member of six regional anti-trafficking task forces established throughout New York.  These coalitions bring law enforcement agencies and service providers together to establish protocols for case referrals and work together to meet the needs of victims.

DIPA continues to receive requests for federal U and T-Visa certifications from individuals who were victims of employment-related crimes.

DIPA Hotline: The DIPA Hotline (877) 466-9757 enables callers to seek assistance and guidance to programs and services provided by the NYSDOL; local, state, and federal agencies; and community-based organizations.

Agriculture Labor Program (AgLP): DIPA's Agriculture Labor Program brings State Workforce Agency services to Migrant, Seasonal, and Migrant Food Processing farmworkers (MSFW) directly to the places where they work, live, and gather.  AgLP staff travel to farms, labor camps and locations where workers gather to conduct outreach.  Outreach consists of providing farmworkers with employment services, information on the labor law, and resolving apparent violation or taking written complaints from MSFWs.

Foreign Labor Certification Unit (FLCU):  DIPA staff assist New York employers in seeking foreign guest workers through the seasonal H-2A (agricultural) and H-2B (non-agricultural) Foreign Guest Worker Visa Programs.  AgLP staff support the FLCU through the H-2A housing inspection and field check process.  Additionally, AgLP staff provide employment services to U.S. domestic workers by registering applicants for services, assisting them with their job search and referring qualified applicants to H-2A job orders.  DIPA staff provide written Spanish Language translations to H-2A job orders which are sent to New York's Supply States (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Puerto Rico) within the Interstate Agricultural Recruitment System. 

DIPA staff also provide Spanish language interpretation services for applicants (U.S. domestic labor) seeking to interview for H-2A jobs in New York. These applicants are referred to job orders through Department of Labor staff and supply states.

Outreach to Immigrant Communities: DIPA takes a similar approach to other low wage and immigrant workers who are not employed in agriculture. DIPA staff conduct Know Your Rights events around the state targeting immigrant, refugee, and English Language Learners.  Recent outreach initiatives have included racetrack backstretch workers, day laborers, and nail salon workers.  DIPA partners with immigrant and refugee advocacy groups around the state, including the Consulates representing the larger groups of immigrant workers in the State of New York.