Residents of the north Bronx will no longer have to travel to Manhattan to obtain free immigration services now that the Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights has opened a new office in the immigrant-heavy borough.

More than half of the Coalition’s clients traveled from the Bronx to its only location in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan.

To better serve the Bronx’s growing immigrant community, which counts for 29 percent of the population, according to the latest census figures, the Coalition’s new office, known as the Bronx Project, will provide general educational workshops, free citizenship and English classes, and legal aid related to family petitions and deportation. 

Last Saturday morning, the first floor of Refuge House in North Fordham, where the center will be located, was bustling with community activists, elected officials and journalists attending the opening ceremony for the Bronx Project.

Congressman Jose Serrano presented the organization with a $300,000 check representing a citizenship grant from the Department of Homeland Security. As he addressed the audience, Serrano highlighted the need for comprehensive immigration reform and criticized the growing trend of deporting undocumented individuals whose children were born in the United States.

“We have a lot of folks [in the Bronx] who need these services and are lacking this level of services,” said Serrano.

The Coalition worked with Serrano to secure the federal grant to expand services to the Bronx, where they will focus primarily on securing citizenship for legal immigrants.

“I am humbled that the board has entrusted me with the Bronx Project,” said newly appointed Deputy Director, Angela Fernandez. “Something has to happen to address the 12 million people [in the U.S.] who do not have a clear path to citizenship.”

Raquel Batista, the Coalition’s executive director, thanked Serrano for his efforts. “Thank you for taking this risk,” Batista said.

The event was attended by Council Majority Leader Joel Rivera, his father Assemblyman Jose Rivera, Council Member Oliver Koppell, Assemblyman Nelson Castro, and a representative of U.S. Senator Charles Schumer.

Ed. note: The Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights’ Bronx Project is located at Refuge House, 2715 Bainbridge Ave., and is open from Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The phone number is (718) 484-8294.