Staffers at city libraries, recreation centers, and other public buildings are being directed to treat immigration enforcement agents the same as the general public.
That directive is spelled out in an internal memo from Mayor Malik Evans distributed to city library workers and obtained by WXXI News. Other towns in the Monroe County Library System have used the memo in training.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not visited city public buildings, to the city’s knowledge, a spokesperson for the mayor said. But there have been questions of how staffers should respond, as President Donald Trump has sought to ramp up deportations and rolled back previous restrictions that had made “sensitive areas” like courthouses, schools and hospitals off-limits to ICE.
“ICE officials may go anywhere the public may go but may not enter into private or restricted areas of City facilities, including areas accessible by employees only. If screening for entry is the building’s standard operation, the ICE official should undergo the same screening,” the memo reads.
The letter outlines that the city does not keep registries on national origin, race, or religion and does not request proof of citizenship when providing benefits. It also says ICE agents will receive no special treatment in accessing municipal buildings. The Rochester Police Department also does not work with ICE in immigration enforcement, per its general orders.
That memo aligns largely with Evans’ stance on immigration enforcement in Rochester.
“The city of Rochester is not a part of, or party to, any raids that take place,” Evans said during a recent interview. “That’s the something the federal government does, and they don’t alert us, they don’t alert the Police Department.”
The memo advises staffers to contact the city law and communications departments if ICE begins an operation in their workplace.
Under the Tenth Amendment, states and municipalities are generally able to decide whether they actively cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. However, the federal government does have means to pressure municipalities to comply.
Hours after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi was sworn in, she signed off on a flurry of first-day directives.
Among them were directives placing the weight of the Justice Department behind crackdowns on undocumented immigrants. In that effort, Bondi vowed to shut off Justice Department funding to “Sanctuary Cities,” and later announced litigation against states that have laws deemed counter to the Trump Administration’s immigration policies, including a New York state law that allows undocumented immigrants to get driver’s licenses.
Rochester has had a sanctuary policy since 1986, with a revamped resolution passed in 2017 under Mayor Lovely Warren. The policy sets a blanket policy for the administration to adopt policies that protect "all who come within its borders.”
Meanwhile, the city has received about $600,000 from the DOJ since 2021, according to the federal Office of Justice Programs.
Dozens of individuals and organizations nationwide have filed to block various aspects of the immigration crackdown.
Among them is the New York Immigration Coalition. On Thursday, it sued the DOJ, State Department, and Trump over an executive order that sought to end birthright citizenship. That order has also been blocked by multiple courts.
Cassandra Bocanegra is the senior manager of organizing and strategy for the coalition’s Finger Lakes chapter. She said as ICE raids become an increasing concern and federal law enforcement seeks to take a hardline approach to immigration, education on civil rights is critical.
The coalition distributes wallet cards explaining a person’s rights when dealing with immigration enforcement. Cards are printed in multiple languages.
“Everyone, regardless of their status, has their Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights,” Bocanegra said. “If they’re in their home, if they’re in their car, they do have the right from unlawful search and seizure.”
The City Hall memo emphasizes public spaces for a practical reason. ICE often uses administrative warrants in the pursuit of deportation. Those warrants differ from judicial warrants, which are signed by a judge and allow law enforcement to search private residences and are enforceable in public buildings like libraries.
Administrative warrants are typically signed by an ICE official and authorize the arrest of a person deemed fit for deportation.
“Basically, what this means is that the ICE officer has the authority to arrest the person named in the warrant, so long as the officer locates the person in a public, non- (residential or private), location,” a Federal Law Enforcement Training Center memo reads. “For example, the person is located walking down a public sidewalk.”
Bocanegra said knowing the difference is a key mechanism in people exercising their rights.
“We know that people knowing their rights 100% creates a barrier for that immigration enforcement to happen,” Bocanegra said. “It’s a barrier that is legal, and it’s working.”
Evans, in the memo, also offers a number of resources for training on immigration rights.
The memo attempts to position the city as neutral in the ongoing political climate surrounding immigration.
“I understand that reports of ICE activities across the country are creating fear and confusion throughout our local community,” it reads. “As city employees, we must remember that our priority is people, not politics, and that we have an opportunity to provide stability amid uncertainty.”
