Cultura y noticias hispanas del Valle del Hudson
A few days ago, I was in Albany, the seat of state power, to speak with several groups of activists, community members, and even representatives who gathered to fight for immigrants’ rights. Specifically, they were seeking the swift approval of a bill called New York for All (A3506, S2235).
According to its supporters — such as NYCLU, NYIC, CCSM, Make the Road NY, and others — New York for All would set reasonable and uniform limits on the ability of local governments to conspire with ICE and BP. Law enforcement officers would be prohibited from using public resources to enforce federal immigration law; government agencies could not share confidential information with ICE or BP; and immigration authorities would not be allowed access to non-public areas of government property without a judicial warrant. It would also prohibit 287(g) agreements that delegate local agents to act as ICE agents, and it would ensure that detained individuals are informed of their rights when facing immigration authorities.
In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, city and town council members and other representatives from across the state wrote that “many foreign-born New Yorkers live with the constant fear that everyday tasks such as taking their children to school or calling emergency services when needed could result in arrest and deportation. This fear is made worse by the reality that, in many parts of New York, local law enforcement and other government agencies openly collaborate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Border Patrol (BP) to target people for alleged violations of civil immigration law.” They added that “the New York legislature continues to lag behind states like Illinois, Colorado, California, New Jersey, and Washington, which have risen to the occasion and passed similar laws” to the proposed New York for All.
Guillermo Maciel, a farmer from the northern Hudson Valley and son of immigrants, told me that “unfortunately, I also know what it feels like to lose a father to deportation — it's very hard, and that’s why we’re here.” Everyone around him already knows their rights, they have a plan in case of encounters with immigration — at home, on the street, or at work — and despite the fear, they keep working to put food on the table. That’s why “for us, it’s really important to give encouragement to all the workers out there, to give them more security and the hope that New York for All can serve as an added layer of protection.”
Nelson Andino explained that he went to Albany so that “New York can put on its boots and work for our entire immigrant community. We want all of New York — immigrants and non-immigrants — to join this fight. Because it’s a just fight for our family.” After the interview, Andino, along with about 300 others, did a brief march around the capitol, held a press conference at the so-called “Million Dollar Staircase,” and visited legislators — thanking the ones who support the bill and urging those who don’t yet to support it urgently.
According to organizers, communities that refuse to collude with ICE are safer and simultaneously strengthen the economy. If it works so well in other states, why hasn’t it passed yet in New York? For Luba Cortés, a civil rights and immigration leader with Make the Road New York, the answer is simple: “Because there are racist ideologies that make people be seen as ‘others,’ without rights.”
Since 2019, different versions of this bill have been introduced, but they have not been brought to a vote. Currently, the bill has 63 co-sponsors in the Assembly and 28 in the Senate (the Senate has a total of 63 members and the Assembly 150). Marcela Mitaynes, who represents District 51 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, is one of the Assemblymembers co-sponsoring the bill. “We know our immigrant communities are under attack. They don’t care if we’re documented, if we have status — what they want is to get rid of all of us. And it’s important to be aware of what’s happening and to speak out. What the federal government wants is to scare us. But we still have rights, and we as human beings have rights — and as immigrants, we have rights.” She also spoke of the resilience of immigrants: “They forget that my people have crossed jungles, rivers, seas to get here. We can defeat this president, my people, we can do it.”
Anyone can call their representatives, citizen or not, and express their views on this bill. Maybe New York really is for all.
Mariel Fiori
Managing Editor
COPYRIGHT 2025
La Voz, Cultura y noticias hispanas del Valle de Hudson
According to its supporters — such as NYCLU, NYIC, CCSM, Make the Road NY, and others — New York for All would set reasonable and uniform limits on the ability of local governments to conspire with ICE and BP. Law enforcement officers would be prohibited from using public resources to enforce federal immigration law; government agencies could not share confidential information with ICE or BP; and immigration authorities would not be allowed access to non-public areas of government property without a judicial warrant. It would also prohibit 287(g) agreements that delegate local agents to act as ICE agents, and it would ensure that detained individuals are informed of their rights when facing immigration authorities.
In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, city and town council members and other representatives from across the state wrote that “many foreign-born New Yorkers live with the constant fear that everyday tasks such as taking their children to school or calling emergency services when needed could result in arrest and deportation. This fear is made worse by the reality that, in many parts of New York, local law enforcement and other government agencies openly collaborate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Border Patrol (BP) to target people for alleged violations of civil immigration law.” They added that “the New York legislature continues to lag behind states like Illinois, Colorado, California, New Jersey, and Washington, which have risen to the occasion and passed similar laws” to the proposed New York for All.
Guillermo Maciel, a farmer from the northern Hudson Valley and son of immigrants, told me that “unfortunately, I also know what it feels like to lose a father to deportation — it's very hard, and that’s why we’re here.” Everyone around him already knows their rights, they have a plan in case of encounters with immigration — at home, on the street, or at work — and despite the fear, they keep working to put food on the table. That’s why “for us, it’s really important to give encouragement to all the workers out there, to give them more security and the hope that New York for All can serve as an added layer of protection.”
Nelson Andino explained that he went to Albany so that “New York can put on its boots and work for our entire immigrant community. We want all of New York — immigrants and non-immigrants — to join this fight. Because it’s a just fight for our family.” After the interview, Andino, along with about 300 others, did a brief march around the capitol, held a press conference at the so-called “Million Dollar Staircase,” and visited legislators — thanking the ones who support the bill and urging those who don’t yet to support it urgently.
According to organizers, communities that refuse to collude with ICE are safer and simultaneously strengthen the economy. If it works so well in other states, why hasn’t it passed yet in New York? For Luba Cortés, a civil rights and immigration leader with Make the Road New York, the answer is simple: “Because there are racist ideologies that make people be seen as ‘others,’ without rights.”
Since 2019, different versions of this bill have been introduced, but they have not been brought to a vote. Currently, the bill has 63 co-sponsors in the Assembly and 28 in the Senate (the Senate has a total of 63 members and the Assembly 150). Marcela Mitaynes, who represents District 51 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, is one of the Assemblymembers co-sponsoring the bill. “We know our immigrant communities are under attack. They don’t care if we’re documented, if we have status — what they want is to get rid of all of us. And it’s important to be aware of what’s happening and to speak out. What the federal government wants is to scare us. But we still have rights, and we as human beings have rights — and as immigrants, we have rights.” She also spoke of the resilience of immigrants: “They forget that my people have crossed jungles, rivers, seas to get here. We can defeat this president, my people, we can do it.”
Anyone can call their representatives, citizen or not, and express their views on this bill. Maybe New York really is for all.
Mariel Fiori
Managing Editor
COPYRIGHT 2025
La Voz, Cultura y noticias hispanas del Valle de Hudson
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