New Yorkers Flood 26 Federal Plaza Demanding ICE Out of NY

If you missed our last two This Week updates on the proposed change to the NYC health insurance plan that covers 70% of active CUNY employees, visit the PSC webpage: What’s Happening to Our Healthcare? New information will be posted there as it becomes available.

Register here for one or more Zohran for Mayor phone banks being held every Wednesday until Election Day at the PSC Office (25 Broadway, 15th Floor). No experience is necessary! We’ll provide pizza, training and a phone script to support you. The next will be October 1st from 6-8 PM.

Read about the national campaign to protect our students and research: Saving Lives, Building Futures, Powering the Economy.

Sign up to Phonebank on Sept. 30

Join AFT and AAUP for a virtual phone bank to mobilize calls into legislators’ offices in defense of higher education research and students. No experience needed: Each session kicks off with a brief training, and the AFT/AAUP will provide scripts and support you throughout the shift. Sign up here to make calls on Tuesday, September 30th from 8-10PM.

Send a Letter to Congress

Click “start writing” on the letter posted here to make our funding priorities clear to Congress: No cuts to federal science funding or student aid!

Thousands of New Yorkers displayed a powerful message of resistance to Trump’s regime of mass deportation at a protest yesterday, September 25th in Lower Manhattan. Hundreds of PSC members joined elected officials and members of more than 30 other unions and community organizations as they shut down the streets surrounding 26 Federal Plaza to make it clear that they will not stay silent as ICE repeatedly commits violent and unlawful actions. The building has been a locus of cruelty over the past months: ICE has unlawfully abducted and abused hundreds of New Yorkers outside its immigration courtrooms, separating them from their loved ones, and detainees in the 10th floor holding cells have been subjected to overcrowded and inhumane conditions.

The action began with a program in Foley Square where PSC Secretary Andrea Vásquez joined elected officials and speakers from Make the Road, NY Immigration Coalition, and other organizations. Then the crowd marched, circling the building, raising the alarm against ICE’s unlawful policies, and demanding action from elected officials. The demands included:

1. ICE Out of NY! ICE Out of the Courts!
2. No federal troops – Hands Off NYC!
3. Pass the New York for All Act in Albany and the NYC Trust Act in City Hall!

Read more about the New Yorkers Against ICE action here and here. See more PSC images and video on Instagram.

PSC members who have gone through the union’s court watch training are welcome to join the Immigrant Solidarity Working Group to bear witness and support immigrants called to the courts at 26 Federal Plaza. We meet Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 AM sharp in Thomas Paine Park, at the northern end of Foley Square. The next training for members is on Tuesday, Oct. 7th 6:30 PM sharp–register here.

On October 18, we rise to say: no thrones, no crowns, no kings! We don’t back down against chaos, corruption, and cruelty. Trump thinks his rule is absolute–but in America, there are no kings. We refuse to stand by while this administration escalates its authoritarian power grab—sending masked agents into our streets, targeting families, abandoning public education, making college less affordable, kicking millions off healthcare, taking food from hungry children, and waging war on workers’ rights—all to give massive tax cuts to corporations and billionaires.

Millions of us took to the streets in June; millions more will be out on Saturday, October 18, from 11AM — 1PM at Duarte Square, 6th Avenue & Canal Street.

Fill out the form at this link to tell us you’ll be there with the PSC.

The PSC’s Teacher Education Working Group invites teacher educators throughout CUNY to participate in our first annual research forum. This year, the day-long program in the PSC Union Hall (25 Broadway, 15th Floor) will focus on making connections between education research and advocating for change during tumultuous times. Coffee, lunch, and afternoon refreshments provided. Register at no cost at PSC-CUNY.ORG/EdResearchForum2025. Download a flier here to share with your colleagues in teacher education.

The Trump Administration has proposed a rule to eliminate the Duration of Status that allows international students to stay in the country while they are making progress towards completing their academic objectives. They plan to replace it with a system that admits international students to a stay no longer than four years. The public comment period for this rule change ends September 29th. Please click here to submit a comment today opposing the change and explain how the proposed rule would harm our students and universities. It would:

• Deter international students from seeking higher education in the U.S.
• Undermine graduate programs; most Ph.D. students take almost 6 years
• Harm our workforce and economy by discouraging talented students who often seek to stay in the U.S. and work legally after their studies are complete

The PSC’s Environmental Justice Working Group and Legislative Committee are partnering with NYPIRG and other student and community partners for a powerful series of community conversations on increasing civic engagement and building a sustainable future in NYC. This year’s events will center around the question of what’s at stake in the upcoming city elections, and feature large-scale voter registration drives. The first town halls will be at Queens College on Monday, September 29th, 12:15 PM and at LaGuardia Community College on Tuesday, September 30th, 10:30 AM. Check the PSC calendar in September and October for a town hall on your campus or at a campus near you.