With hopes for a better life, migrants make the attempt to cross the American border. Yet, a surge of undocumented immigrants are being detained inside the walls of the Albany County Jail — hundreds of them low-level offenders.

Camille Mackler, director of Immigration Legal Policy at the New York Immigration Coalition, said the process for those who seek asylum needs a fix.

"This is about [t]aking a system that is fundamentally unfair, and stacked against individuals at their lowest and most vulnerable moments, and making it a little bit more fair," said Mackler. 

 

 

The Albany County Corrections Facility has been housing immigrants for the past five years.

This past summer, buses dropped off more than 300 migrants in a matter of days. Mackler said about half of them were from Central America and the other half came from areas like India, China, and Pakistan. 

Majority of those aboard the buses seek the American Dream, according to Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple. 

"These are the folks running from sex slavery, human trafficking, MS-13; these are the folks that are coming in here to basically provide a life for their family and to live that dream that we live everyday," said Apple. 

Albany county plans on using $170,000 of a $4 million federal surplus to assist detained migrants with their legal immigration fees. The County also hopes their new program will break down barriers.  

Mackler described the program as offering detainees a fair shot at protection.

"We're not asking for them to be granted asylum, we're asking for the opportuinity to apply," said Mackler. 

Albany County Legislator Andrew Joyce also weighed in and said local governments need to take charge.

"When we talk about folks coming into our country, they need compassionate care and what do we do? It's certainly up to the local governments to resist on some of the destructive policies we're seeing on a nationwide scale," said Joyce.

On average, the migrants are housed in the jail for about four to six months. Mackler said the New York Immigration Coalition was successful for 85 percent of the migrant cases — she hopes to continue that track record through this program.

"We're beating the national odds for asylum seekers and we're getting them out of jail; that's something we're really proud of," said Mackler. 

This program is the first of its kind in the state and even possibly in the nation.