New York Governor Kathy Hochul is joining moderate Democrats in other states in securing new laws to protect immigrants.
When Governor Hochul testified last year on Capitol Hill, she kept repeating one phrase, “We cooperate with ICE.” But this year, Hochul is touting a tentative deal to ban formal cooperation agreements and restrict when on-duty ICE agents can wear masks.
Governors Mikey Sherrill in New Jersey and Wes Moore in Maryland are embracing similar legislation. It's a sign that the aggressive surge in Minnesota, resulting in 2 civilian deaths, has changed things.
Muzaffar Chishti, a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute, noted the shift in policy leanings, “Everything that was considered unacceptable and sort of third rail in immigration politics suddenly became acceptable.”
The new measure would limit or prohibit cooperation agreements between federal immigration efforts and local police agencies.
Hochul hopes to sign the new immigration laws as part of the state budget.