As budget negotiations continue, one of the most controversial and difficult items being negotiated is immigration and, specifically, a so-called sanctuary proposal called New York for All. The bill would prohibit coordination between public employees, including law enforcement officials, and federal immigration agents.
I diligently work to be a nuanced, thoughtful policymaker – many complicated issues are simply not black or white. This is one of them.
I examine New York for All through two lenses depending on the undocumented individual that we’re talking about:
The first group consists of individuals who came into the country violating a civil immigration law (it only becomes a criminal federal violation if they re-enter illegally after removal) but, since then, have followed the law, just want to be good neighbors, send their kids to school, go to work and, yes, most pay full taxes via the federal Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) program. Whether you know any or not, these individuals are in every one of our local communities. Oftentimes, they’ve been here for decades – peaceful and hardworking. I’m deeply disturbed when individuals in this category face harsh deportation, especially when parents are separated from their citizen children. I want to do everything I can to protect this category of individuals.
Then, there’s the second category of undocumented individuals who commit serious crimes in our state. In December 2024, a person illegally in our country lit a woman on fire in a subway car. He proceeded to walk out of the subway car, sat on a platform bench, and watched his victim burn alive. This horrific incident was caught on video. Let me be unequivocally clear: I want individuals like this criminal gone from our state and gone from our country. This is why I deeply oppose certain provisions in New York for All that would prohibit law enforcement coordination in situations like the one described here.
I fully acknowledge some on the far-left and some on the far-right may disagree with my viewpoint on this issue; I respect that disagreement. Know, however, that I developed this position after months of careful discussion and research, and I believe it advances public safety for all residents who wish to live in our state as good neighbors. I will continue pushing for an outcome that best reflects this goal in the ongoing budget negotiations.
