The New York For All Coalition issues the following statement

June 7, 2022

ALBANY, NY – The New York state legislative session concluded last week without lawmakers voting on the New York for All Act (S.03076/A.02328), key immigrants’ rights legislation that has wide support from elected officials, advocates, legal service providers, public health experts, and faith leaders throughout New York state.

The New York for All Act would broadly prohibit state and local officials from enforcing federal immigration laws, funneling people into ICE custody, and sharing sensitive information with federal immigration authorities. It prohibits ICE and CBP from entering non-public areas of state and local property without a judicial warrant. It also ensures that people in custody are given notice of their rights before being interviewed by ICE, and starts the process of limiting ICE and CBP access to state information databases.

In response, immigrants rights organizations released the following statement:

Assembly and Senate leadership Assembly and Senate leadership have once again missed a critical, common-sense opportunity this legislative session to protect immigrant New Yorkers from detention and deportation. The New York for All Act would keep local officials and limited resources out of ICE’s anti-immigrant agenda and limit ICE’s unfettered access to both citizen and non-citizen New Yorkers’ personal information.

New York state should not use its local resources to funnel immigrant New Yorkers into ICE’s hands to separate families from their communities. The harms of ICE detention are well-documented: once detained, immigrant New Yorkers face life-altering medical neglect, anti-Black racism, xenophobia, and religious discrimination. Once deported, immigrant New Yorkers face indefinite family and community separation due to draconian immigration laws that remain unchanged due to decades of congressional inaction. ICE detention and deportation, therefore, impact the individual and New York families and communities who are left to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. Collaboration between local law enforcement and ICE also erodes trust among immigrant communities and undermines New York laws to protect survivors of domestic violence.

Through their inaction this legislative session, Governor Hochul and Senate and Assembly leadership signaled that ICE’s mistreatment of immigrant communities–aided and abetted by New York’s resources–is acceptable. We disagree. ICE continues to target and deport Black, Latinx, and AAPI community members, at a time when white nationalist violence against these same communities escalates throughout New York state and the country. We will continue to fight for a safer New York for all because our communities cannot afford to wait.

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Download the full press release here.