New Yorkers without U.S. citizenship who serve in the military and their families are receiving support from state agencies for the first time as they navigate the process to become naturalized citizens.

The most recent $252 billion state budget included half a million dollars for a new program to connect foreign-born soldiers in the state and their families to pro-bono legal assistance to streamline their path to citizenship.

Staff in the state Office for New Americans have referred 40 people in the last two months for the Staff Sgt. Alex R. Jimenez New York State Military Immigrant Family Legacy Program, according to the department Friday. Lawmakers who sponsored legislation to create the program said they know of several people in the state who will benefit from the assistance. 

"This is a country that depends highly on our military for a number of reasons, and we should be giving back — we should be supporting them and their path to citizenship and their parents' path to citizenship," said Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz, a Queens Democrat. "It's the most humane thing we can do to thank them for their service."

Two Office for New Americans staff are working with the office's hotline staff and network of legal services providers to facilitate referrals and support the new program, according to the department.

The Office for New Americans within the state Department of State continues to finalize how the $500,000 will be allocated.

"The program is still in the early stages of planning and decisions regarding the allocation of funding are still being finalized," according to the department.

Cruz started work on the bipartisan bill to create the program during President Donald Trump's first administration. 

She and Sen. Jake Ashby, a Republican, worked together for several years to get the law passed — designing it so servicemembers and their families can easily navigate the immigration with state and federal agencies. 

The program is named for Staff Sgt. Alex Jimenez, a New Yorker from the Dominican Republic who died in 2007 in the U.S. Army while serving in Iraq. Federal deportation proceedings immediately began for his wife, who was also undocumented, while his body remained missing for more than a year.

Republicans and Democrats voted unanimously last year to create the program so that doesn't happen in the state again.

"This is a program that is going to unite people," said Ashby, of Castleton. "...This is a way to recognize them and thank them for that service and bring them into the fold."

Ashby, a former U.S. Army captain, was on tour in a nearby Iraqi province in 2008 when Jimenez's body was recovered. He first approached Cruz about the idea for the legislation when he was in the Assembly minority.

New York's program is the first of its kind in the country, Cruz said.

"Our sole purpose is to hold their hand and provide them resources so they can go from possibly undocumented or other formal status to ensuring citizenship," the assemblywoman said.

Immigration reform was a point of contention this session, but lawmakers left Albany without passing any this year. 

But the legislation to create the program for newcomers serving in the military unanimously passed both houses, which Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law last December.

“New York’s service members risk their lives to defend our nation, and they deserve our unwavering support when they return home," a spokesperson with Hochul's office said in a statement. "This program ensures that veterans and their families seeking assistance with immigration matters are matched with the experts best equipped to provide the assistance they need, and we are grateful to work with our partners in the Legislature to get this done.”

The creation of the program marked a rare bipartisan moment of unity on immigration as lawmakers at the state and federal levels struggle to find common ground as the federal government increases deportations.

Cruz, who immigrated to the state from Colombia at the age of 9, said she wishes lawmakers voted this session to adopt a measure to expand sanctuary laws statewide to deter local police from sharing information with federal immigration agents.

"It's a starting point," Cruz said. "It's by no way, and no means, the end goal. It is where we began to have these conversations in a way that is humane and recognizes what people really need."

And lawmakers on both sides of the aisle agree the successful creation of the program helped build a foundation for larger conversations about immigration reform at the state level.

"I don't believe in sanctuary status for states, but I'm not anti-immigrant," Ashby said. "I believe in better immigration policy and I think we can achieve that. And I think the passing of this bill demonstrates that."