New York Immigration Talks Hit Impasse After Hochul’s Latest Proposal

In backroom negotiations over immigration legislation, Governor Kathy Hochul proposed a measure that would ban local law enforcement from sharing information with federal immigration agents in civil cases, two legislators and three advocates who were briefed on the discussions told New York Focus — but would leave cops broad discretion to coordinate with immigration authorities when they suspect criminal activity.

Legislators pushing to expand immigration protections have largely rejected the proposal, said the sources, who were granted anonymity to discuss and share notes from private talks.

The only limitation on information-sharing for criminal matters in the governor’s proposal is to restrict police from providing immigration authorities with information about a witness or victim of a crime, the sources said.

The new proposal came at the tail end of four months of tense negotiations over the governor and legislature’s dueling immigration policy proposals. Legislators have pushed to pass the New York for All Act, an expansive piece of sanctuary legislation, while Hochul has proposed only banning formal partnerships between local police and immigration authorities. Much local collusion with immigration enforcement happens informally, without a written agreement.

By Wednesday, Hochul’s latest counterproposal had been struck from the pending legislation altogether, according to two people with knowledge of the negotiations. That could leave the final bill hewing close to Hochul’s original proposal, as the governor pushes to end the negotiations.

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“I think that [the governor] is very close to saying pencils down,” one legislator said.

On April 16, the governor proposed a compromise that would require local law enforcement to establish probable cause for a specific suspect before they could share information with federal immigration enforcement. Immigration advocates criticized the proposal, arguing that probable cause was too lenient a threshold.

A few days later, advocates obtained detailed notes of the governor’s newest proposal, which wouldn’t require probable cause. Legislators and advocates worry that the counterproposal is less restrictive than Hochul’s first compromise offer, since it leaves it up to individual officers to decide whether they are investigating a potential crime. Cops may be able to make that determination without establishing probable cause, a concept defined in case law, the advocates said.

“What this means in practice is that anything a police officer does in connection with or in response to a crime — and that could be a misdemeanor — would allow them to actively and affirmatively notify ICE or CBP about the person,” said Yasmine Farhang, executive director of the Immigrant Defense Project. “As long as they can say that they are initiating an investigation of any crime, they can notify ICE and CBP.”

Hochul’s office defended her proposal. “Governor Hochul is committed to keeping New York communities safe, which is why she has proposed a commonsense set of policies to hold ICE accountable while protecting the constitutional rights of every New Yorker,” the office said in a statement. “The Governor remains focused on working with the legislature to keep federal overreach out of New York and any changes to the proposal have come as a direct result of requests from the Legislature.”

Legislators who spoke to New York Focus said they would rather abandon a compromise than sign onto Hochul’s latest proposal. “No one likes it,” one said, expressing dismay at the state of the negotiations.

“There is no universe in which New York for All, in its current form, is included in the budget. This is as far as she said she’s willing to go.”

Immigration Talks Hit Impasse After Hochul’s Latest Proposal

Hochul’s counter would limit informal collusion with ICE only in civil matters.