Legislature closes in on immigration package deal

Lawmakers are optimistic a long-debated legislative package to strengthen immigration protections in the state could be released next week as the state Legislature makes progress on negotiations with Gov. Kathy Hochul. 

Legislative leaders have been in talks with Hochul’s office for weeks over New York Democrats' commitment to bar local police from working with U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement agents. Hochul proposed a law to outlaw local police from entering into formal agreements with ICE, known as 287(g) agreements, which would sunset on July 1, 2029.

But the state Senate and Assembly have been clear that lawmakers will only support an immigration deal that ends all forms of collaboration between localities and federal immigration enforcement – formal and informal – without a signed judicial warrant. And they want any ban on collaboration with ICE to be permanent.

“It seems like we are making progress – things are moving,” Assembly Member Karines Reyes told City & State. “I would think that maybe by next week we should be conferencing some language already.”

Reyes is a lead sponsor of the New York for All Act, which would ban all collaboration between localities and ICE. Hochul has hesitated to back New York For All.

State lawmakers believe it is essential to prohibit informal collaboration because local police, especially upstate, have said they will continue to work with ICE even if 287(g) agreements are banned, and that a formal agreement isn’t necessary. Reyes said discussions have been productive and the three branches of state government are largely aligned.

Reyes said she expects the sunset date to be removed from the final version of the compromise, but the governor and Legislature are continuing to hash out the details of the legislation. One sticking point: Hochul wants to ensure that localities can continue to work with federal immigration officials when an undocumented person is involved in a violent crime. But Reyes said nothing in the legislation will stop ICE from doing their jobs. 

"They can always, and have always been able to, and will continue to be able to go after people who commit serious crimes after they serve their time and they've gone through the judicial process,” she said. “If ICE wants to detain them and start a deportation process, they always can do that. It shouldn’t be us doing the police work for them … that’s basic police work we expect a federal agency to be able to do.”

State Sen. Andrew Gounardes, the other lead sponsor of New York for All, said he expects the final legislation will land somewhere between that bill and Hochul’s proposal. He said they’re currently working out the details of guidance for schools if ICE comes to the door, what happens when children are separated from their detained parents and other delicate provisions.

“We want something that we can push the envelope as far as we can on a constitutional and legal basis, because we want it to have that long-standing impact, and we want it to be immediate,” Gounardes said.

Gounardes said the legislation will not change ICE’s ability to secure a warrant for someone to be deported from the country, and that ICE has the funds, and ability, to secure a judicial warrant for any person's arrest or deportation at any time.

“If someone commits a crime, whether they are a documented citizen, a legal resident or an undocumented immigrant, if they commit a crime and they are caught, they will be prosecuted, they will be convicted, and they will serve their time, just like anyone else,” he said.

The state Senate appointed several senators to a small working group in January to push Hochul to take legislative action against ICE on the heels of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda. The group devised a list of bills they want in the package, including Hochul's proposal to allow New Yorkers to sue federal officers who violate their constitutional rights, banning law enforcement from wearing masks and barring ICE from sensitive areas such as schools and houses of worship.

“We’re working as hard as we can – it would be great if we can get something done by next week,” Gounardes said. “A lot of us would love to do that. We’re not there yet, so we’re just going to keep plugging away.”

State Sen. Pat Fahy sponsors the bill, known as the MELT Act, to prohibit the masking of law enforcement, including immigration agents. She expects the policy will be included in the final deal. 

A similar policy was struck down in California last year because it only applied to local and federal police, but Fahy said New York's proposal will be on more solid legal footing since it will apply across all agencies. “We don't exempt anyone,” she added. “You can't treat one differently than the other. So we feel ours will pass muster.”

The Legislature is closing in on an immigration deal as leaders embark on serious budget negotiations. The annual spending plan is due April 1.

Lawmakers intend to pass the immigration protections outside the $263 billion budget. Gounardes said he hopes it will clear both houses beforehand.

The state will likely need to hire staff in state Attorney General Letitia James’ office dedicated to enforcement, or to ensure localities and employers follow the law. Gounardes said those costs will be insignificant.

“If they need a couple of additional personnel to help them do that, that's a de minimis cost that should not be an issue, and should not prevent us from passing the law outside of the budget,” Gounardes said.

Lawmakers are expected to adopt immigration reform as the issue remains a focal point this election year. Republican gubernatorial candidate and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman has made his county’s agreement with ICE a fixture of his campaign, blasting Hochul and Democrats for policies that Republicans argue will increase crime. 

The three-way discussions continue after a Bronx student was released from ICE detention this week and after Hochul met with Trump’s border czar Tom Homan in Albany earlier this month.

"Gov. Hochul is committed to keeping New York communities safe, which is why she has proposed a commonsense set of policies to hold ICE accountable while protecting the constitutional rights of every New Yorker,” a spokesperson for Hochul said in a statement. “The governor remains focused on working with the legislature to keep federal overreach out of New York, and will review all legislation that passes both houses."

Reyes said she’s encouraged by the ongoing negotiations.

“We're negotiating with the second floor to make sure that whatever concerns that they have are addressed in whatever language we land on,” Reyes said. “The language might not look exactly how we started, but I'm confident that we'll get somewhere that I think is favorable.”