Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday signed into law a set of sweeping protections for immigrant New Yorkers, including a ban on law enforcement officers wearing masks and a measure barring local police statewide from enforcing civil immigration laws.
One law also bars Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from entering so-called “sensitive locations,” such as churches, schools and polling places. Another law allows individuals to sue ICE for alleged constitutional violations.
“On behalf of the people of the state of New York, this is our time to act,” Hochul said. “It's time to show the nation and Washington who we are.”
Hochul, a Democrat, signed the bills at state offices in New York City, amid a crowd of immigration advocates, faith leaders and immigrants and families of immigrants that officials said had been affected by ICE arrests.
The action comes as both Hochul and her New Jersey counterpart, Gov. Mikie Sherrill, also a Democrat, face pushback from the Trump administration over their opposition to the immigration enforcement actions in their states.
Detainees at the Delaney Hall ICE detention center in Newark have engaged in a weeklong hunger and labor strike over conditions inside the facility, and their freedom. The actions inside have spawned unrest outside as well, including violent clashes between protester and ICE officers.
Markwayne Mullin, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, has repeatedly chastised Sherrill in social media posts, calling her a “sanctuary politician” and criticizing her for allegedly refusing ICE’s calls for state police to help manage the protest.
Mullin has also threatened to pull Customs and Border Protection agents who process international passengers at Newark Airport, and from other "sanctuary" jurisdictions.
Sherill has renewed calls to shutter Delaney Hall, which is run by a private contractor. State health officials attempted on Thursday to inspect the entire facility but were only allowed access to a “limited part,” she said.
Sean Higgins, a spokesperson for Sherrill, said in a statement that the governor and her staff have been in “constant communication” with the state’s congressional delegation, attorney general, and state police “about both the safety of New Jersey residents exercising their First Amendment rights and the conditions at Delaney Hall.”
Higgins added that Sherill will share the health department’s inspection findings, and “We will continue to pursue all appropriate avenues for demanding transparency and ensuring humane conditions for the individuals being held at the facility.”
ICE officers arrested nearly 20 people in clashes outside Delaney Hall this week, including nine people on Thursday evening, according to DHS officials. Earlier on Thursday, families of detainees and immigration advocates in contact with people inside the facility alleged guards had beaten and tear-gassed the strikers.
More protests are expected outside Delaney Hall over the weekend, including both anti-ICE protesters and those who support the agency.
