Protecting Basic Liberties in New York

Governor Kathy Hochul today highlighted Border Patrol’s mismanaged release of Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a refugee from Myanmar who was partially blind and never returned to his family, and ICE’s violation of constitutional rights in their recent detainment of Columbia student Ellie Aghayeva. The Governor proposed legislation to keep ICE and Border Patrol agents out of sensitive locations, prioritizing New Yorkers’ safety and rights to recourse if their liberties have been violated.

VIDEO: The event is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).

AUDIO: The Governor's remarks are available in audio form here.

PHOTOS: The Governor’s Flickr page will post photos of the event here.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

 Another major issue I need to address; it affected a family right here in Buffalo, and it is so heartbreaking to even contemplate and think about what they've had to deal with. Another example of federal overreach. Just a few miles from here in Buffalo, we had a NurulAmin Shah Alam, a refugee from Myanmar who fled genocide, found a home here. Someone who didn't speak English, mostly blind and you all know the facts. They're chilling to know what happened to this individual — in a very cold time to be left alone with no recourse, no hope of getting home.

And when our federal government makes a decision to release someone from its custody, it has a responsibility to do so safely and with clear communication. That clearly did not happen here. I'll be meeting with his wife and sons. They're grieving. They deserve answers. We all want answers to how this could have happened. Wwe're reviewing every available avenue to understand what happened and ensure there is full accountability, and looking at our Attorney General and others who are looking to find out how this can be investigated.

These are federal agents acting out of control. This is un-American what is happening to our country right now. Homeland Security failed here, failed miserably, and leadership matters. Secretary Kristi Noem oversees this department. I can't tell you how many times we've called on her resignation after the murders of civilians in Minneapolis, to these failures that are unfolding right here and also at Columbia University where constitutional rights of individuals living in their home were violated.

In this country, since the Fourth Amendment was written 250 years ago, we have known that our houses, our homes are protected from federal intrusion unless there's a warrant signed by a judge. That did not happen here as a student was taken from her home — and especially when the ICE agents falsely identified themselves as NYPD officers. This is how far this has gone, how far it has gone that they're now lying about their identities, masking the true purpose of their entry into a building that is someone's home.

So, I believe we need to have a government that follows the rules. In New York, we will not stay silent. I have proposed some common sense rules to help get this situation under control, and I want to make sure that local police officers are fighting local crimes. This is important. They have a lot to do.

We've funded local law enforcement to the tune of $3 billion. I will keep investing in my local law enforcement, my sheriffs, my police departments, and make sure that that is also not diverted for civil immigration enforcement. There's a big difference here.

We'll always help any federal agent deal with someone who's committed a crime — always have, always will. We'll assist in the deportation of individuals who've committed crimes. But right now, if your rights are being violated, I want to make sure you have recourse. If your constitutional rights have been trampled on by the federal government in this space, you should be able to sue and also make sure that we have sensitive locations where federal agents cannot go into, whether it is your home — again, protected by the Fourth Amendment. I shouldn't even have to put that into law, but we're going to do that here in New York. Other sensitive locations where ICE and Border Patrol should be prohibited: that is schools, daycare centers, hospitals, places of worship as well as other sensitive locations.

We've seen this overreach. It's time to get it under control. The federal government won't do it, then we'll do what we can at the state level, and that's exactly what I proposed, and expect the Legislature to act as swiftly as possible to enact these.