Gov. Kathy Hochul is poised to make New York the nation’s latest sanctuary state, completing a remarkable evolution from an upstate county clerk who once threatened to call the authorities on undocumented immigrants seeking driver’s licenses.
Experts told me and Arya Sundaram that a package to protect immigrants approved Thursday in a state budget bill falls short in some ways of what other states, including California and Illinois, have had on the books since President Donald Trump’s first term in office. Click here to read the full article in Gothamist.
But the package – and Hochul’s about-face – reflect the new political reality of the Republican president’s second term: Aggressive roundups of immigrants have pushed even moderate Democrats like Hochul to stand up to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, deepening the rancor on a long-debated topic.
“A fundamental shift happened in the country on immigration after Minnesota,” said Muzaffar Chishti, a senior fellow at the nonprofit think tank the Migration Policy Institute. “Everything that was considered unacceptable and sort of third rail in immigration politics, suddenly became acceptable.”
The bill was the product of months of negotiation. State legislators pushed Hochul further to the left than she initially wanted to go; remember that last year she repeatedly stressed to Congress how New York cooperates with ICE.
The actual legislation prohibits state and local employees – with the exception of local police officers – from asking about a person’s immigration status or using government property to aid immigration enforcement. It bans all law enforcement officers, including ICE, from wearing face coverings except in particular circumstances.
As I reported earlier, the bill prohibits local jails from detaining people on immigration offenses. Another section prohibits immigration enforcement in sensitive places like schools and hospitals, and creates a new ability for people to sue ICE.
And it includes a ban on formal 287(g) cooperation agreements between ICE and local police agencies. The same sentence states that ban is “including, but not limited to, any formal or informal agreement under which an officer or employee may engage in or assist immigration enforcement, or otherwise may perform a function of an immigration officer.”
I’ve been puzzling over that sentence for a few days, and how broad the prohibitions actually are. This is what happens when the public isn’t allowed to see legislative language until less than 24 hours before a bill passes.
Lawmakers have stressed, often with disappointment, that the bill still allows informal collaboration between local police and ICE. But, as Assemblymember Catalina Cruz said on the chamber floor, “there’s an argument to be made here that if it looks and it smells like the 287-g agreement, then it’s part of what this law would say is not permissible.”
Republicans voted against the bill, saying it would make it more difficult to deport immigrants accused of crimes. Assembly Minority Leader Ed Ra called says the bill would make New York “a sanctuary state on steroids.”
Hochul’s team actually pushed back when I used the “s” word to describe the bill, noting the term carries different meanings to different people.
“There is no sanctuary in New York for people who commit crimes and the state will continue to coordinate with federal officials when cracking down on violent criminals and gang violence,” Hochul spokeswoman Jen Goodman said.
The governor is already touting the bill, which she’s expected to sign soon. She’ll join New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who are also moderate Democrats, in approving immigration legislation this year.
We’re going to be hearing more about this. Tom Homan, who is president Trump’s border czar, threatened to surge ICE agents into New York if the bill becomes law. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman – the Republican running against Hochul this year – says he’ll sue to keep his county’s 287(g) agreement in place. Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin, another Republican, says he’s just going to ignore the law.
“While you endanger New Yorkers, I will protect my residents,” McLaughlin said. “As I said before, I dare you to confront me on this.”
State Sen. Andrew Gounardes, a Brooklyn Democrat and leading supporter of the bill, relished the fight.
“We have a responsibility to protect our constituents, protect our neighbors and to stand for values we all believe in,” he said before the vote. “So, frankly, Tom Homan can shove it.”
CHECKING IN ON NY-21: Democrats have only held a North Country congressional seat for five years since the Civil War, but a homegrown candidate, Republican infighting and President Donald Trump’s flagging popularity are giving them hope for another shot.
I traveled to Saratoga Springs for a recent spring meeting of the Democratic Rural Conference. Party officials there said that they’re adding candidate Blake Gendebien to a statewide coordinated campaign designed to expand the party’s congressional delegation.
Participation in the coordinated campaign means Hochul will direct state party resources to open offices and hire canvassers in the district, said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand during the meeting. Click here to read my full article in Gothamist.
FOR YOUR EARS: Here’s my weekly conversation about recent state news with my public radio colleague Samuel King. Click here or below to listen.
HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY. May it be a moment of reflection on the sacrifices of our armed forces, a chance to hope for enduring peace and some time for relaxation with family and friends.
THE QUESTION: Who was the governor who Hochul opposed over the proposal to give drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants?
Know the answer? Drop me a line at jimmy.vielkind@gmail.com. Or just write with thoughts, feedback or to say hi.
THE LAST ANSWER: Spring comes. Summer waits. Fall leaves. Winter longs.
I learned about the cool murals on bridges in downtown Syracuse from this great Sean Kirst column. It’s an open question of whether or not the fading murals will be restored or replaced.