Media Contact

Kaye Dyja, kdyja@nyclu.org, 212-607-3372

June 6, 2023

WHITE PLAINS – Today, federal District Court Judge Nelson S. Román granted the New York Civil Liberties Union’s motion for preliminary injunction, barring Rockland and Orange Counties from enforcing unconstitutional executive orders targeting recently-arrived immigrants. The court found those orders intentionally discriminate against the plaintiffs and violate their rights to travel freely within New York State. 

While state courts have ordered New York City to temporarily halt the relocation of immigrants outside of the city, pending state-level litigation, today’s federal court ruling means that Rockland and Orange Counties cannot use their orders to restrict the movement or housing of newly-arrived immigrants. 

Amy Belsher, director of Immigrants’ Rights Litigation at the New York Civil Liberties Union, issued the following statement in response:  

“Today’s decision sends a loud and clear message not only to Rockland and Orange Counties, but to all of the counties who have issued these discriminatory executive orders: the Constitution does not allow you to build walls around your county limits. Instead of playing politics with the lives of some of the most vulnerable, our state must uphold its legacy of being a beacon of refuge and new beginnings.”