Cultura y noticias hispanas del Valle del Hudson
New Protections for Immigrants in New York
After a two-month delay, due to back-and-forth negotiations, the proposal for New York State was approved by its governor and legislature on May 27th (as opposed to April 1st when it was supposed to be ready). With the proposal a large package of diverse legislation was also approved, among them a list of new protections for immigrants, from a version of New York for All, to the Bivens Act which holds ICE (state and federal officials) accountable for violations of constitutional rights.
In her press communication, Governor Hochul, expressed that the package of laws “will make New York a leader during the time to curb ICE’s overreach, guaranteeing at the same time that there will not be refuge for criminals in this state”. One of these laws, called Local Cops, Local Crimes aims for local police to focus on resolving and preventing local crime. “When they go astray to act like ICE agents —doing literally the job of ICE agents in the application of civil immigration law—, they’re not focused on what we need them to be doing”, declared Hochul.
A section of the legislation, titled the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act, would impose restrictions on immigration control activities in places like schools, hospitals, places of worship and public libraries. Another section prohibits public schools from denying access to free education on the basis of citizenship or immigration status. The legislation also limits the form in which local governments and public servants can cooperate with immigration control operations.
At the same time, the legislative package will create a new trusted office for immigrants within the Department of Justice of New York. This office would offer legal guidance, supervise policies related to immigration and coordinate the spread of information and services for immigrant communities throughout the state. The proposal also assigned approximately $74 million at the Office of New Americans to pay for legal representation of those in immigration processing. This is an increase from $10 million last year, although less than the $183 million that the legislature had proposed.
Going into effect immediately, agents of local, state and federal orders, are prohibited from wearing masks or disguises while interacting with the public during the carrying out of their official functions, with the exception of limited circumstances.
Assembly member Karines Reyes, registered nurse and primary advocate for the Dignity Not Detention and New York for All laws, declared: “Today's triumph is the culmination of years of hard-fought advocacy. From ending formal collusion through 287(g) agreements as part of my New York for All Act, banning local jails for ICE detention, preserving the dignity of all individuals, unmasking agents, and protecting our sensitive locations, each piece of this package is a resounding declaration that New York refuses to be complicit in the federal government's campaign of fear. I am proud to see these safeguards signed into law, but formal collusion was never the only form of collusion. I look forward to continuing to work with advocates, colleagues, and the Governor to further improve immigrant protections — because no one should ever have to choose between safety and survival simply because of where they were born, and we will not rest until all New Yorkers can live without that fear”.
The New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), was also pleased with the package of protections for immigrants. “Regardless”, they lamented, “the package doesn’t prohibit informal collusion between local police, ICE and Border Control, calling Border Control at a traffic stop or turning someone in to ICE after an arrest. This informal collusion is the reason why so many New Yorkers end up detained and deported”.
In an interview on my program La Voz with Mariel Fiori, Sarahana Shrestha, representative of district 103 in the state assembly, expanded on each of the approved protections. With New York for All “we did not get everything we wanted. Essentially, we got provisions that say state employees, local government employees they cannot do the work of immigration officers. But we had to make an exception for local law enforcement and that was because there was a disagreement between us and the governor. She wanted local law enforcement to be able to exchange information for criminal investigations”. And so, this fight will continue in the next legislative session, which starts in January of 2027 “to not have that exception for local law enforcement and include that in the restrictions we’ve applied to state and municipal employees; so then we would have passed the full New York for All” explained the assembly member.
Mariel Fiori
Director
*Translated from Spanish by Lucy Waldorf
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COPYRIGHT 2026
La Voz, Cultura y noticias hispanas del Valle de Hudson
After a two-month delay, due to back-and-forth negotiations, the proposal for New York State was approved by its governor and legislature on May 27th (as opposed to April 1st when it was supposed to be ready). With the proposal a large package of diverse legislation was also approved, among them a list of new protections for immigrants, from a version of New York for All, to the Bivens Act which holds ICE (state and federal officials) accountable for violations of constitutional rights.
In her press communication, Governor Hochul, expressed that the package of laws “will make New York a leader during the time to curb ICE’s overreach, guaranteeing at the same time that there will not be refuge for criminals in this state”. One of these laws, called Local Cops, Local Crimes aims for local police to focus on resolving and preventing local crime. “When they go astray to act like ICE agents —doing literally the job of ICE agents in the application of civil immigration law—, they’re not focused on what we need them to be doing”, declared Hochul.
A section of the legislation, titled the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act, would impose restrictions on immigration control activities in places like schools, hospitals, places of worship and public libraries. Another section prohibits public schools from denying access to free education on the basis of citizenship or immigration status. The legislation also limits the form in which local governments and public servants can cooperate with immigration control operations.
At the same time, the legislative package will create a new trusted office for immigrants within the Department of Justice of New York. This office would offer legal guidance, supervise policies related to immigration and coordinate the spread of information and services for immigrant communities throughout the state. The proposal also assigned approximately $74 million at the Office of New Americans to pay for legal representation of those in immigration processing. This is an increase from $10 million last year, although less than the $183 million that the legislature had proposed.
Going into effect immediately, agents of local, state and federal orders, are prohibited from wearing masks or disguises while interacting with the public during the carrying out of their official functions, with the exception of limited circumstances.
Assembly member Karines Reyes, registered nurse and primary advocate for the Dignity Not Detention and New York for All laws, declared: “Today's triumph is the culmination of years of hard-fought advocacy. From ending formal collusion through 287(g) agreements as part of my New York for All Act, banning local jails for ICE detention, preserving the dignity of all individuals, unmasking agents, and protecting our sensitive locations, each piece of this package is a resounding declaration that New York refuses to be complicit in the federal government's campaign of fear. I am proud to see these safeguards signed into law, but formal collusion was never the only form of collusion. I look forward to continuing to work with advocates, colleagues, and the Governor to further improve immigrant protections — because no one should ever have to choose between safety and survival simply because of where they were born, and we will not rest until all New Yorkers can live without that fear”.
The New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), was also pleased with the package of protections for immigrants. “Regardless”, they lamented, “the package doesn’t prohibit informal collusion between local police, ICE and Border Control, calling Border Control at a traffic stop or turning someone in to ICE after an arrest. This informal collusion is the reason why so many New Yorkers end up detained and deported”.
In an interview on my program La Voz with Mariel Fiori, Sarahana Shrestha, representative of district 103 in the state assembly, expanded on each of the approved protections. With New York for All “we did not get everything we wanted. Essentially, we got provisions that say state employees, local government employees they cannot do the work of immigration officers. But we had to make an exception for local law enforcement and that was because there was a disagreement between us and the governor. She wanted local law enforcement to be able to exchange information for criminal investigations”. And so, this fight will continue in the next legislative session, which starts in January of 2027 “to not have that exception for local law enforcement and include that in the restrictions we’ve applied to state and municipal employees; so then we would have passed the full New York for All” explained the assembly member.
Mariel Fiori
Director
*Translated from Spanish by Lucy Waldorf
back to top
COPYRIGHT 2026
La Voz, Cultura y noticias hispanas del Valle de Hudson
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