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Making New York City a better place for all immigrants
Portrait of Manuel Castro

Winner

Manuel Castro

Making New York City a better place for all immigrants
Portrait of Manuel Castro

Website

cmsny.org

Year

2020

Organization

CMS

Sector

Jobs & Economic Growth

Borough

Queens

Manny is a key player in the movement to support immigrant New Yorkers.

Manuel crossed the U.S.–Mexico border when he was five years old. Although he never knew any other home than New York City, he grew up in fear of deportation because his family was undocumented…
Read winner story

Publication

NYC Office of Immigrant Affairs

Manuel Castro Releases Statement as he Concludes his Time as Commissioner at NYC Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs

By Shaina Torres
February 17, 2026
Under the leadership of Manuel Castro, MOIA grew from a 19 million to a $50+ million operation and awarded $120 million in contracts and grants to immigrant-serving non-profit organizations…

Publication

New York Daily News

Once undocumented, now commissioner

By Manuel Castro
December 31, 2025
On a recent visit to Manhattan's federal immigration courthouse, I sat beside a young child, and his mother, as a judge explained that the federal government's representative across the room was challenging their right to…

Publication

The Washington Post

In New York, a city official welcoming migrants used to be one

By Joanna Slater
March 24, 2024
On a chilly Saturday in late February, dozens of recent arrivals to New York filed into a small auditorium in Queens to learn more about applying for asylum. Bundled in jackets and clutching cellphones, they were just a few…

Update from winner

Manny Castro Twitter
@MCastroMOIAMay 2, 2023
Returning to the #PortAuthority bus terminal to #welcome asylum seekers sent to NYC by Texas.
“A Dreamer is now the commissioner. It feels like there's progress.⁠”
The Washington Post

News Segment

NY1

Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs commissioner talks about expediting work permits for migrants

By SPECTRUM NEWS STAFF
August 31, 2023
Mayor Eric Adams led a rally Thursday morning in Foley Square with other city officials to call on the federal government to fast-track work authorization permits for asylum seekers. This comes as city and state officials…

Publication

CBS News

NYC Immigrant Affairs Commissioner Manuel Castro on asylum seekers crisis

May 21, 2023
Castro knows what it's like to arrive in New York City without citizenship papers. At the age of 5, he crossed the border from Mexico with his mother…
“You will not make a better investment in the future of NYC than Manny Castro⁠”
Robert Courtney Smith
Professor, CUNY

Publication

Harlem World

City Launches $18 Million RFP For Immigrant Legal Support Centers Funding Initiative

By Harlem World Staff
August 8, 2024
The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) Commissioner Manuel Castro and the NYC Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Molly Park have released two Requests. The requests are for Proposals (RFx) to establish…

Podcast

CMSOnAir

Commissioner Manuel Castro on Migrants in New York City

May 10, 2024
This episode of CMSOnAir is a conversation on the role of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) in responding to the needs of and developing opportunities for migrants in New York City. Mario Russell, Executive Direc…
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