On Friday, New York State Senator Jeremy Zellner (D-61) announced his support and co-sponsorship of the New York for All Act.
The legislation would limit local and state police from working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It would also place limits on gathering immigration information in state agencies and in educational settings.
"Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and have their rights respected. I've heard from families across the district who are already stretched thin and worried about their future and trying to make ends meet," Zellner said in a press conference at The Garden Church on Delaware Ave. in Buffalo. "The last thing they need is a system that makes their communities less safe and more unstable.
"We have a responsibility to act."
The legislation would change how discovery and disclosure of immigration status is handled. It would prevent a variety of state and local officials, including police, peace officers, school resources officers and state entities from asking someone if they are a citizen or what their immigration status is.
It also limits, in education settings, the collection of information "about a person's citizenship, immigration status, nationality, or country of origin, unless required by law or necessary to administer a public program or benefit sought by such person."
"What I want this [legislation] to do is not ask the questions that could put us in a tough spot as a state agency," Zellner said, explaining the state can't control what a federal agency does but it can push back by controlling what state and local agencies do. "It's going to not cooperate in the sense that we're not going to ask those questions."
The bill currently has about 30 co-sponsors in the state Senate and over 60 co-sponsors in the state Assembly. Sean Ryan, who previously held Zellner's Senate seat before becoming mayor of Buffalo, also co-sponsored the legislation.
