(Image source from: voicesofny.org)

New York:
Nisha Agarwal, 40, commissioner of New York City’s Office of Immigrant Affairs since the beginning of de Blasio Administration and a prominent Indian-American public interest officer, fighting a rare form of brain cancer has been appointed as senior adviser to J. Phillip Thompson, Deputy Mayor of New York City.

According to the statement on Mayor’s website, “Agarwal will take on role of senior adviser to the deputy mayor to boost civic engagement among New Yorkers and build democracyNYC’S efforts on immigration, disability and healthcare. Agarwal worked on building landmark initiatives like IDNYC the city’s municipal identification card and Cities for Action, a national advocacy coalition of local elected officials.”

Agarwal was also the co-founder and Deputy Director of the center for popular democracy, the nonprofit advocacy group dedicated to advancing pro-immigrant, pro-equality and pro-justice policies at the grassroots and national levels. She was a Marshall Scholar at Oxford University.

“We are in a moment of unparalleled attacks on the rights of people across the United States to take part in our democratic process, access government services, and assert their voices. The Trump White House has made it their mission to spread falsehoods about voters, limit critical social services, and suppress participation in the census. These assaults have immense impacts on New Yorkers in the short and long term,”Agarwal said.

Agarwal was diagnosed with brain cancer known as glioma, due to which initially incapable to speak or walk. Her diagnosis did not stop her from protesting in the Republican tax bill that would have enabled medical researchers to find cures for rare diseases like the one she was diagnosed with.

By Sowmya Sangam