NY for All Act Is the Best Way to Protect Immigrants and Communities

In the wake of the horrific killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis, Gov. Kathy Hochul introduced the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act. This bill would temporarily end formal partnerships between ICE and local police, known as 287(g) agreements.

This is a helpful step, and it’s good Hochul recognizes that making local police agents of ICE undermines public safety. But her bill keeps in place huge loopholes that leave children, families and whole communities vulnerable to ICE’s cruelty. And when New Yorkers — immigrants and citizens alike — are scared to reach out for help, it makes us all less safe.

Hochul’s proposal is a watered-down version of a much stronger bill in the state Legislature called the New York for All Act. To achieve true community safety, lawmakers should look past the governor’s bill and pass New York for All.

Across New York, nine counties have signed 287(g) contracts, which essentially turn local police into ICE agents. These agreements increase the likelihood that any encounter with law enforcement — from a traffic infraction to reporting a crime — could put someone on the path to deportation and rip their family apart. The contracts also divert the attention of local officers from serving their communities and put it towards enforcing federal immigration law, even though ICE — with a larger budget than most other countries’ militaries — hardly needs an assist.

But the 287(g) program is only part of the story. Collusion between federal immigration enforcement and localities happens through interactions with schools, public hospitals, shelters and social services. Many of the things that happen under 287(g) agreements — sharing intelligence with immigration authorities, profiling people in the community and flagging them for ICE — also happen in counties without any formal agreement. The governor’s bill wouldn’t change that.

In other words: Even if Hochul’s bill passes, many New Yorkers will still have cause to worry and may avoid getting help in an emergency, taking their child to school, or even reporting a crime, for fear they could end up in ICE detention.

Local Cops, Local Crimes would end 287(g) agreements for only three years. While President Donald Trump may be term-limited, ICE’s abuses have spanned multiple presidential administrations under both parties and may not end the minute a new president takes office. We need a permanent solution, not a temporary fix.

Local Cops, Local Crimes also does nothing to disentangle New York from ICE’s burgeoning surveillance apparatus, which sweeps up citizens and noncitizens alike. ICE aggressively scoops up data from state and local databases to feed into its surveillance dragnet. That would remain unchanged under Hochul’s proposal.

To fully untangle our state and local governments from ICE’s mayhem, we need New York for All. It would broadly prohibit state and local officers from becoming immigration enforcers, funneling people into ICE custody and turning over sensitive information. The bill would also prohibit ICE and Customs and Border Protection from entering nonpublic areas of state and local property without a judicial warrant and limit their access to state information databases.

Data shows cities and states that adopt policies like the ones outlined in New York for All are safer than those that don’t. That’s because public safety is undermined when people in immigrant communities are scared to call first responders or get the assistance they need.

That’s a key reason why New York lawmakers should accept no substitute for real solutions. They must pass New York for All.

This piece was originally published in Times Union.