Mayor Mamdani last Friday signed an executive order reinforcing the city\u2019s sanctuary policies, which limit cooperation between local and federal officials on immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n
The decree, which Mamdani signed while delivering remarks at the annual Interfaith Breakfast in Manhattan, bars U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from entering city property, including schools, shelters and hospitals, without a judicial warrant. It also requires city agencies to appoint a privacy officer to ensure that New Yorkers\u2019 data is not shared with immigration authorities unless required by law.<\/p>\n
The order further establishes an interagency committee to coordinate crisis policy, and requires city agencies including the NYPD, Department of Correction and Department of Social Services to conduct audits of all internal policies guiding interactions with immigration authorities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis order is a sweeping reaffirmation of our commitment to our immigrant neighbors and to public safety as a whole,\u201d Mamdani said. He also launched a \u201cKnow Your Rights\u201d push, giving out nearly 32,000 informational fliers and booklets for faith leaders to share with congregants.<\/p>\n
His announcement comes amid tension between civilians and federal officials cracking down on unlawful immigration in Minnesota, where ICE agents killed two American citizens during separate confrontations last month.<\/p>\n
Mamdani in his speech spoke of the \u201cmoral clarity and integrity\u201d of those in attendance, and referenced religious texts including the Torah, the Bhagavad Gita and the Quran. He quoted the prophet Muhammad in part of his remarks about standing alongside the stranger.<\/p>\n
In response, City Councilmember Vickie Paladino (R-Whitestone) said on X, \u201cWe have to allow infinity migrants because Islam says so, according to Zohran. This isn\u2019t going to end well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paladino said in a separate post that judicial warrants are \u201cirrelevant\u201d in administrative immigration cases, and that mayors cannot \u201cnullify\u201d federal law.<\/p>\n
For Councilmember Joann Ariola (R-Ozone Park), the executive order is \u201ca lot of talk but little substance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will get his base riled up, certainly, but most of the things he\u2019s talking about are already covered by New York\u2019s sanctuary laws,\u201d Ariola said in a statement. If anything, she continued, the added restrictions on ICE\u2019s ability to remove dangerous criminals will make New Yorkers less safe.<\/p>\n
Councilmember Lynn Schulman (D-Forest Hills) also noted that the protections in the order are not new, and have existed under both Democratic and Republican administrations.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt their core, they reaffirm that New York City remains a place for everyone,\u201d Schulman said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the federal government refuses to stand up to ICE, signing blank checks to continue Donald Trump\u2019s mass deportation agenda, New York City is fighting back,\u201d Councilmember Shekar Krishnan (D-Jackson Heights) said on X.<\/p>\n
Councilmember Selvena Brooks-Powers (D-Laurelton) concurred, saying the Bill of Rights is presently being treated as \u201cfine print you can scroll past.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Constitution isn\u2019t \u2018guidance.\u2019 It\u2019s the guardrail. And NYC\u2019s message to ICE is clear: A home is sacred ground in the law,\u201d Brooks-Powers said in an X post. \u201cNo judge, no warrant, no entry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other New York lawmakers have recently taken steps to bolster sanctuary policies. The Council on Jan. 29 enacted a law by Councilmember Tiffany Cab\u00e1n (D-Astoria) barring ICE from Rikers Island, and Gov. Hochul introduced legislation to prevent taxpayer-funded resources from being used for immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n
U.S. Reps. Grace Meng (D-Flushing) and Gregory Meeks (D-Jamaica) held a press conference at Borough Hall Jan. 29 to denounce what they termed brutality by federal agents. Both lawmakers said they would not vote to fund the Department of Homeland Security without guardrails to rein in ICE.<\/p>\n
President Trump last week signed a spending package that funded the DHS through Feb. 13, amid negotiations about ICE restrictions. Senate Democrats were dissatisfied with a White House proposal made last weekend, and lawmakers seemed no closer to reaching an extension deal as of press time.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom our streets to our courthouses, immigrant New Yorkers are forced to look over their shoulders in fear,\u201d New York Immigration Coalition President and CEO Murad Awawdeh said in a statement. \u201cMayor Mamdani\u2019s announcement recognizes his responsibility to defend all residents from abusive immigration enforcement, and our moral obligation to protect our immigrant neighbors from these attacks.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mayor Mamdani last Friday signed an executive order reinforcing the city\u2019s sanctuary policies, which limit cooperation between local…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":131540,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[609,2301,36610,9,24,63,87,28208,134,136,135],"class_list":["post-131539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-government","tag-immigration","tag-mayor-mamdani","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-politics","tag-sanctuary-city","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131539\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}