ALBANY — A new law in New York blocks federal immigration enforcement officials from making arrests at courthouses without a judicial warrant.
Gov. Cuomo on Tuesday signed the Protect Our Courts Act, which prohibits Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from arresting anyone going to or leaving a court proceeding, whether they are a defendant, witness or a relative, unless they have a signed warrant.
Courthouse arrests by ICE officials dramatically increased under President Trump and a federal judge ordered the agency to stop the practice earlier this year. The measure enshrines the ban into law.
“This new law is a powerful rebuke to the outgoing Trump administration and their immigration policies that have undermined our judicial system,” said sponsor Sen. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan). “After today, New York’s courts will no longer be hunting grounds for federal agents attempting to round-up and initiate deportation proceedings against immigrants.”
According to a report by the Immigrant Defense Project, ICE made 1,700% more arrests in 2019 in and around courthouses than they did in 2016, before Trump took office.
While the New York State Court System issued a directive prohibiting warrantless arrests inside courthouses, nearly half of the 2019 ICE busts occurred after that directive was in place, according to the group.
“The individual rights granted to all New Yorkers by the U.S. Constitution should not be dependent upon who holds the office of the presidency,” said sponsor Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages (D-Nassau). “There is a real and tangible fear among the immigrant community that the courts are not safe from ICE intervention, often creating a dangerous barrier for justice.”
The measure doesn’t impede an arrest warrant from being authorized by a judge. Instead it blocks immigration-related courthouse arrests that are warrant-less or based on administrative warrants.
The new law is the latest salvo in an ongoing battle between the feds and the Empire State over undocumented immigrants. Earlier this year, the Trump administration attempted to penalize the state by cutting off residents from expedited travel programs after New York allowed undocumented people the ability to apply for drivers licenses.
The feds backed down after admitting other states already have similar laws on the books.
More recently, Cuomo has railed against the Trump administration’s COVID vaccine program, alleging that immigration authorities could gain access to data requested by federal health officials about who is receiving doses.
“Unlike this federal government, New York has always protected our immigrant communities,” Cuomo said. “This legislation will ensure every New Yorker can have their day in court without fear of being unfairly targeted by ICE or other federal immigration authorities.”
___
(c)2020 New York Daily News
Visit New York Daily News at www.nydailynews.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
—-
This content is published through a licensing agreement with Acquire Media using its NewsEdge technology.
They know they stole the election, they know they don’t have the legal votes to win. And this is evidentiary of that fact.
They need Illegals to pad the voter rolls and this is why they are so desperate to hide them from ICE.
In my opinion Illegals played a key roll in Basement Joe stealing the election.
TIME FOR federal marshals to go in, and ARREST ALL THOSE IN ALBANY and governor Cuomo.. FOR TREASON!
“There is a real and tangible fear among the immigrant community that the courts are not safe from ICE intervention, often creating a dangerous barrier for justice.”……WHAT ? Justice is sending them back to the country of origin for ILLEGALLY entering the United States and Sucking Dry the funding of our Social Services funded by and designed to be used by LEGAL Americans. They are all social THEIVES, but since New York is now run by the party of THIEVES I suppose we are now forced to look the other way while our country is attacked form within by what used to be our father’s American Democrat party, now taken over by SOCIALIST slimeballs determined to make the USA equally poor in wealth and spirit as the rest of the failed socialist world of lost losers.
Another reason for Cuomo getting the “Academy Award”; The law means nothing to Cuomo and leaving illegal alien criminals, in our Country, means nothing to Cuomo, the lawless. Ah, liberal voters, you vote for lawlessness. The liberal voters obviously want to hurt themselves.
He’s a demon-rat. OF COURSE they care not about the law. FOR decades they have been proven time and time again, THEY CAN BREAK ANY DAMN LAW they want, and nothing will ever get done about it! SO WHY should they follow the law!
More stupidity by the moron Governor of NY. Was not the order to have elderly nursing and retirement homes admit covid patients a big enough screw up. My opinion Cuomo needs to be prosecuted for THAT.
ITs getting to where, i’d just love to park a few dozen imperial star destroyers over the heads of NY, WA, CA, OR, CO and Mi, and just POUND EVERYONE OF THESE liberal cities into ruin…
time to cut lose the liberal bastions of states where our american laws don’t mean jack #### to them.
build walls or expel these cretons.
“The individual rights granted to all New Yorkers by the U.S. Constitution should not be dependent upon who holds the office of the presidency,”
U.S. Constitution is for U.S. Citizens, I know if I go to Europe and do something stupid and, and look for protection from my U.S. Constitution, it dose not help me much.
THAT’s how it sHould be.. BUT i can easily see these zhiestes on the scotus, saying “IT applies to everyone, legally and illegally in this nation”.
No ICE, no federal money. States needs to start obeying federal law.
AND any judge, HELPING TO HIDE or otherwise shield a CRIMINAL from ICE, needs to THEMSELVES BE ARRESTED on the bloody spot…