In the latest effort to achieve universal child care, New Yorkers gathered at Foley Square to call on the mayor to invest money into supporting undocumented children.

Child care advocates are demanding a $20 million investment into the city’s Promise NYC program. They say that amount is just a drop in the bucket for the city, but a game changer for undocumented families and their children.

After being excluded from federally funded subsidized child care last year, Mayor Eric Adams invested $10 million into launching the program providing for 600 undocumented children. This included newly arrived asylum seekers with subsidized child care.

However, advocates say that promise only supports those students for six months, and by the end of June, they’ll be back to where they started.

The mayor’s preliminary budget for 2024 allocates no money at all for the program, according to advocates. Following today's rally, they will be demanding that it’s restored and given additional funding at the City Council hearing.