Letter to Commissioner Castro re: Sanctuary Laws

December 16, 2024

Table of Contents

    Commissioner Manuel Castro

    Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs

    253 Broadway

    New York, NY 10007

    Re: Sanctuary Laws 

    Dear Commissioner Castro,

    First, thank you for the information shared in your October 25th response to our inquiry. I appreciate the prompt response and have a few follow up questions listed in the appendix of this letter.

    In light of the results of the federal election, I am writing now with some urgent recommendations to protect immigrant New Yorkers. Now more than ever, we need our City leaders to communicate clearly to immigrant communities about their rights. While I appreciate MOIA’s commitment to upholding the City’s noncooperation laws as critical public safety tools, the Mayor has repeatedly criticized and at times mischaracterized the law. The various misstatements and the lack of clarity on how and whether the Mayor will follow the law create fear and confusion among New Yorkers. We must ensure that City agencies and the contracted service providers funded by City dollars have clear guidance for adherence to our City’s sanctuary laws.

    As you know, local law prohibits the use of City resources for immigration enforcement.[1] Non-City personnel (such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, “ICE”) may not enter non-public spaces of City-owned or City-leased property, such as City-contracted shelters and asylum seeker centers, without a judicial warrant.[2] Additionally, local law generally prohibits City employees, contractors, and subcontractors from sharing identifying information, except in limited circumstances.[3]

    The City’s detainer laws contain exceptions for where an individual has been convicted within the last 5 years of a violent or serious crime and immigration enforcement has presented a judicial warrant.[4] These laws were carefully written to ensure that New Yorkers remain safe while due process rights are protected, that immigrant communities feel safe reporting crimes and cooperating with investigations, and that City workers and contractors are not commandeered into doing the work of immigration enforcement.

    As you well know, federal immigration authorities are likely to conduct workplace raids, cancel or restrict immigration benefits, including Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). For the one million New York City residents who are part of mixed status families, the looming threat of family separation can create extreme mental and emotional distress, especially for children. New Yorkers deserve clear communication on what their rights are and what their City government is doing to protect them.

    I am glad to see that the Administration has taken some actions thus far to reduce the risks of increased immigration enforcement. However, given the confusing posture of the Mayor on this issue and the repeated promises of the incoming Trump Administration to conduct “mass deportations,” including of individuals with no criminal convictions, my office has identified a number of additional actions MOIA should spearhead across City agencies to strengthen our immigrant protections.

    To clarify the law, protect immigrant New Yorkers, and promote the safety and security of our city, the Comptroller’s office calls on MOIA to immediately implement the following recommendations:

    1. Train all frontline City staff and contractors, including but not limited to shelter operators, service providers, and School Safety Agents, on the City’s non-cooperation laws.
      1. Ensure that the training curriculum is up-to-date, comprehensive, and provides examples of potential scenarios.
      2. Consult with immigration advocates on subjects to emphasize and prioritize based upon community feedback and experiences with City agencies.
    2. Post signage in multiple languages in schools and shelters that clearly state the law, where nonpublic areas are, and the rights of New Yorkers when interacting with federal immigration authorities.
    3. Issue citywide guidance clarifying that the language “immigration enforcement” and “non-local law enforcement” includes U.S. military personnel performing immigration enforcement.
    4. Issue an Executive Order prohibiting City agencies, such as the Department of Correction, from sharing any information with federal immigration authorities unless the individual has been convicted of a violent or serious crime or identified as a possible match in the terrorist screening database and federal immigration authorities present a judicial warrant.
    5. Ensure all City agencies have written policies on compliance with the City’s sanctuary laws and that agency staff are properly trained on compliance.
    6. Ensure that all City contractors fully understand that the City’s sanctuary laws apply to them.
      1. Include training of frontline staff in City contracts going forward and consider including noncooperation language in contracts and service agreements moving forward to make explicit noncooperation with immigration enforcement authorities in compliance with the law is an explicit condition of receiving City funds.
    7. Restore funding for the Rapid Response Legal Collaborative, which provides rapid response legal assistance to those detained by ICE, or at imminent risk of detention and deportation, who may not have the right to see an immigration judge, or are otherwise facing a fast-track to removal.
    8. Restore ActionNYC in schools, libraries, and hospitals which connect New Yorkers to safe and free immigration legal services.
    9. Expand MOIA’s Know Your Rights program.
      1. Leverage the tools in existence to educate New Yorkers on their rights.
      2. Include in the Know Your Rights curriculum rights when interacting with NYPD.
    10. Create plain language, multilingual resources for New Yorkers and distribute them through public schools.
    11. Plan for how to protect City workers that may lose their work authorization due to cancellation of DACA or TPS.
      1. Include advocating for the state to explore novel ideas such as state issued work authorization for public employees.[5]
    12. Work with NYPD to ensure that street vending violations are only issued civil, not criminal, summons consistent with the Criminal Justice Reform Act of 2016.

    The fear of City agencies assisting in immigration enforcement could cause families to avoid getting the help or City services they need, undermining our collective public health and safety. When New Yorkers are afraid to report crimes, cooperate with investigations, or even seek medical care because they fear immigration consequences, it makes communities less safe.

    My office is at the ready to be a partner in making sure New York City adheres to the law and reduce potential harm to our economy and our residents.

    Thank you for your serious attention to this matter. We would be happy to meet with you and senior officials at City Hall to better understand MOIA’s plans to implement these recommendations.

    Additionally, we kindly request responses to the questions listed in Appendix A by December 27, 2024.

    Sincerely,

    Brad Lander Signature

    Brad Lander

    New York City Comptroller

    APPENDIX A:

    Re: Further Clarification on MOIA’s October 25th response to the Comptroller’s September 27th letter

    Follow up questions:

    1. In 2023, a staff person at the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) communicated with Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) in violation of Local Law 228. Thank you for sharing the bulletin that ACS sent to staff reminding them of the laws. However, in the reports that MOIA has filed on LL228 compliance for 2023 and 2024, this incident does not seem to be included. Can you please explain why?
    2. How many Know Your Rights trainings have been conducted this year?
      1. Are there any plans for expanding the program in light of the likely increase in immigration enforcement?
    3. You indicate that the Department of Correction received 320 detainer requests from ICE, and the agency communicated with federal immigration authorities regarding the transfer of 11 individuals between January 1, 2024 and September 30, 2024.
      1. Can you give more information about what happened to those 11 people, were they held past their release date; were they arrested by ICE; what were the communications with federal immigration authorities?
    4. Can you provide some clarification on DOC’s policy: DOC policy is to cooperate in transferring custody to ICE, without additional detention, if ICE requests an inmate who is “a person convicted of a violent or serious crime or identified as a possible match in the terrorist screening database,” New York City Administrative Code §9131(h)(1)(i), and the request is supported by specified documentation of probable cause
      1. Please clarify what “specified documentation of probable cause” means, including whether it requires a judicial warrant or some other legal document?

    Endnotes

    [1] NYC Administrative Code § 10-178.

    [2] NYC Administrative Code § 4-210.

    [3] NYC Administrative Code § 23-1202.

    [4] NYC Administrative Code §§ 9-131, 9-205, 14-154.

    [5] See example from UCLA Center for Immigration Law and Policy: https://law.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/PDFs/Center_for_Immigration_Law_and_Policy/Opportunity_for_All_Campaign_Law_Scholar_Sign-On_Letter.pdf

    $242 billion
    Aug
    2022