Immigrant Welcome Center To Open At Queens Borough Hall

KEW GARDENS, QUEENS — Queens Borough President Donovan Richards will open a center at Queens Borough Hall this spring dedicated to helping documented and undocumented immigrants find and access government resources, from housing to food.

The immigrant welcome center is expected to open sometime in April, although it may begin as a virtual service due to the coronavirus pandemic, Richards told reporters this week.

Two full-time staffers in the borough president's office will be assigned to run the center.

It is meant to serve as a "one-stop shop for individuals who've come to this country," Richards said.

It is meant to serve as a "one-stop shop for individuals who've come to this country," Richards said.

Richards is developing the initiative with state Assembly Member Catalina Cruz, who lived undocumented in Queens for a decade after immigrating with her family from Colombia at the age of 9.

He also cited as inspiration his father, a Jamaican immigrant who became a U.S. citizen in 2019.

"This is an issue near and dear to me," Richards said.