Albany Republicans are making a push to roll back Democrat state and city sanctuary policies they blame for encouraging the influx of tens of thousands of migrants into New York.
State GOP lawmakers said Tuesday they will be introducing legislation to reverse rules that ban local law enforcement from coordinating with federal immigration authorities — which they said were a key driver of the migrant crisis.
“By undermining the authority of ICE and other federal agencies, Democrats threw gas on a fire and have no ability to get it under control,” Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay (R-Pulaski) said.
A number of localities, including New York City, have passed sanctuary laws that prevent cops from cooperating with federal agencies, such as US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
State-run agencies like the Department of Motor Vehicles are also prohibited from sharing information with the feds under the Green Light law passed in 2019 that also allows undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers licenses.
Then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo also issued an executive order in 2017 prohibiting state authorities from cooperating with ICE.
A number of high-profile incidents where migrants have been charged with crimes have spurred renewed criticism of the sanctuary policies, including the alleged beatdown of two NYPD cops in Times Square last month in which several suspects were believed to have skipped town after being let go without bail.
The proposed legislation, sponsored by state Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island), would explicitly require state and local law enforcement agencies to contact ICE if they arrest a non-citizen.
“New York citizens, through warped elected officials, give you free food, free clothing, free shelter, gift cards, televisions, whatever you want, and then you decide to thank New Yorkers, by breaking the law,” Lanza said Tuesday.
“That’s how you thanks New Yorkers?” he asked incredulously.
More than 170,000 migrants have arrived in the Big Apple over the past year and a half — including 66,000 that are still in the city-run shelter system — with the crisis expected to cost $10.6 billion through the 2025 fiscal year.
“Governor Hochul and President Biden could take measures to reverse the massive influx of migrants with the stroke of their pens, but they continue to allow it unchecked – leaving New York taxpayers on the hook and our streets less safe,” Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt said.