Defending dignity, safety and opportunity for all

As part of the 2026-27 state budget, the Assembly Majority enacted measures to protect sensitive locations, strengthen oversight and accountability, support immigrant children and ensure local resources remain focused on genuine public safety threats.

Protecting sensitive locations

• Federal immigration officials will be denied access to non-public areas of state and local government facilities without a court order or judicial warrant
• Private, sensitive locations are also empowered to create policies to prevent federal immigration access to non-public areas without a court order or judicial warrant
  • Sensitive locations include healthcare facilities, houses of worship, housing accommodations, non-public schools and higher education institutions, childcare facilities, nursery schools, summer camps, senior centers, parks, playgrounds, athletic fields, recreation centers, and polling places

Law enforcement should do their jobs – ICE should do theirs

• State and local law enforcement are prohibited from entering into agreements, both formal and informal, to perform immigration enforcement or detainment for civil immigration violations (287g agreements)
• And local governments cannot pay, reimburse, subsidize, or utilize resources to benefit private immigration detention facilities
• It’s important to note that this doesn’t mean ICE cannot do their jobs
• They regularly receive fingerprints of those arrested for state and local crimes and will continue to receive this information
• It also doesn’t limit state and local law enforcement from working with the federal government on task forces and other joint operations – like anti-gang taskforces or legitimate work with Homeland Security

Unmasking ICE agents

• We have seen the videos of people being taken by masked agents with no identification clearly visible showing they are legitimate agents
• Here in New York, we say this is unacceptable
• We are prohibiting ICE agents from wearing face coverings while interacting with the public in the performance of their duties

Protecting immigrant children

• To ensure one of the most basic things we can do for kids, this legislation says that children cannot be denied access to public education due to their citizenship or immigration status
• And in cases where a parent or guardian is detained – leaving a child without care – schools and childcare providers must develop procedures for these situations that do sadly happen
  • Specifically, they must make reasonable efforts to contact all known caretakers who are allowed to retrieve the child before contacting the Statewide Central Register

Oversight of immigration actions

• We are allocating $4.5 million to establish the Immigration Trust Office to enforce and defend the pending immigration legislation
  • This office will work within the Attorney General’s office to receive complaints and conduct investigations
• Residents will be authorized to take legal action against government officials who may have deprived them of their constitutional rights (retroactive to Jan. 1, 2025)
• State and local governments will appoint a contact to review court orders and warrants and establish training for employees
• Plus, for extra confidence that immigrants won’t live in fear in New York, we are prohibiting employees of state and local governments, schools, and higher education institutions from providing resources, information, or any collaboration with federal officials for immigration enforcement purposes
• This law ensures that municipalities and local governments can enact stronger legislation in the future, or keep the current standards