More than a dozen protesters were arrested Wednesday morning after State Police said they blocked entrances to the chambers of both the state Assembly and state Senate in Albany and refused to disperse.
They were there to call for action on immigration-related legislation, including bills that would keep local law enforcement from cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has proposed a bill restricting formal agreements on cooperation, but progressive groups and lawmakers are seeking broader restrictions under legislation known as New York For All.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Andrew Gounardes, D-Brooklyn, and Assemblymember Karines Reyes, D-Bronx, would also limit “informal” cooperation between local departments, restrict local and state resources from being used in civil immigration enforcement and prohibit sharing certain information with ICE without a warrant.
“We’ve seen countless New Yorkers separated from their families, ripped from their communities, because of local collusion with immigration enforcement, which is not local authorities’ jobs,” said Murad Awawdeh, President and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition. “So for us, it is important that this bill get acted on immediately and that we actually provide the justice New Yorkers actually deserve.”
The protesters loudly chanted outside the chambers while the Assembly was in session. According to State Police, five were arrested on the Assembly side and nine on the Senate side. Each was charged with disorderly conduct.
Later in the day Wednesday, Speaker Carl Heastie said it was the protesters’ “personal choice” to engage in civil disobedience.
“I'd say for the Assembly, the coordination and cooperation with law enforcement that could be used in a far too aggressive manner in tearing families apart with the cooperation of ICE, that is a concern that we have,” Heastie said. “So I don't think we have a disagreement with the advocates on that.”
Heastie, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Hochul are engaged in talks to settle the state budget. Immigration could be rolled into those discussions, but Heastie said Hochul had not made any demands regarding that.
Stewart-Cousins said Tuesday that a three-way agreement on immigration outside of the budget is still possible.
