New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has recently appointed civil rights attorney and Democratic political activist Indian American Jenifer Rajkumar as his Director of Immigration Affairs & Special Counsel for the New York Department of State. The former “Elected Leader” for Manhattan’s Lower East Side, took office on Feb. 6, and has been busy crafting strategies to implement the Governor’s immigration initiatives.
Seema Verma sworn in as Medicare Medicaid chief
She said that with the large pool of talent among Indian-Americans, they could be drivers of change by getting more involved in government.
Gov. Cuomo is seen by some political observers, as positioning himself for a future presidential bid and has taken on the role of bulwark against Washington’s seemingly controversial steps in immigration.
“The governor has handed Jenifer the opportunity to get new Americans involved in the civic life of the state,” Mercedes Padilla, public information officer at the N.Y. Department of State, said.
Rajkumar told that she is proud to be in government after years of being a civil rights attorney and a local elected official. “Every day I get to make change and have a real opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives.” she said.
“One of my priorities is to make sure immigrant families are protected especially in this climate where ICE is very active,” said Rajkumar using the acronym for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. “We want families to be prepared for that.”
She is also meeting with several community groups representing different ethnicities and religions to get them engaged in the immigration initiatives. “I am actively reaching out to South Asians, Indian-Americans, including Sikhs, Latinos, the Jewish community, and others. My door is open.”
Rajkumar has been involved in civil rights cases for several years at the law firm Sanford Heisler LLP, focusing on class action litigation on women’s rights, gender discrimination and workers rights. She was named in 2015 and 2016 to the NY-Metro Super Lawyers Rising Stars List, an honor given to about 2.5% of lawyers state-wide. Rajkumar has discussed public policy issues as a panelist on PBS Show “To the Contrary,” and taught immigration as a professor at City University of New York’s Lehman College. In 2011, she became the first Indian-American elected District Leader in Manhattan winning with 70 percent of the vote and was re-elected several times.
Rajkumar works closely with the Office of New Americans, a first of its kind department in the country, that has helped more than 120,000 immigrants on issues like naturalization, training, language learning etc.
“In my job I focus on implementing the Governor’s initiatives, to keep New York as the beacon of hope and inclusivity that it is,” she said, crediting the Governor with working to protect minorities like Sikhs and Muslims from hate crimes.
New Jersey councilwoman wants Edison fair and welcoming to immigrants
A graduate of Stanford Law School and the University of Pennsylvania Rajkumar was named as a 40 Under 40 Rising Star by City & State, a 2017 Queens Rising Star by the Star Network for her work organizing immigrants in Queens among other achievements.
“We need South Asians to drive change through the government,” Rajkumar said. “Indian-Americans and South Asians have done so well in medicine, finance, technology … It’s time to emerge in the government space – learning how to navigate that space,” Rajkumar said.
By Premji
