Three Republican state senators — including Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay — are backing legislation requiring migrants from being relocated without approval from the receiving county and municipality.

S.7615 was introduced recently by Sen. Jim Tedisco, R-Clifton Park. Called the Migrant Home Rule Transfer and Transparency Act, the law would prevent one municipality in the state from relocating migrants to permanent or temporary housing in another municipality unless a resolution has been approved by the governing bodies of the receiving counties. Tedisco proposes requiring 30 days notice before such a move can be made.

Tedisco said his legislation is rooted in a mid-July incident in Rotterdam, where on July 18 the Super 8 Motel informed occupants that they were required to leave with no advanced notification. Several of these motel guests receive benefits from the Department of Social Services who had an agreement with the Motel to house the families. As a result of this displacement, many of these occupants have nowhere to go.

“Let me be clear, I support legal immigration and a path to citizenship, and I have tremendous compassion for those who seek to live in freedom in our great country, but what we currently have is a total failure by the federal government to secure the border and enact common sense immigration policy,” Tedisco said. “Meanwhile, to paraphrase the movie ‘Cool Hand Luke,’ what we have here is a failure to communicate by the Mayor of New York City who beats his chest and purports to lead a sanctuary city but then hustles people off to Upstate communities such as Rotterdam and Colonie without communicating with them and getting their permission. It’s a shameful act of hypocrisy.”

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been sounding the alarm about the migrant crisis in New York City for months, but the issue took on more immediacy when Adams began sending small numbers of migrants to surrounding counties. Then, Gov. Kathy Hochul began investigating locations around the state, including SUNY campuses, as possible locations for migrants to relieve the burden on New York City.

Those actions prompted more than 30 counties across the state, including Chautauqua County, to issue emergency orders to prevent migrants from being sent by New York City Mayor Eric Adams over concerns about costs and ability to provide housing, transportation, education and health care services for migrants. New York City then filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the orders.

“Whether a community wants to be a sanctuary for migrants or not, New York City should show our Upstate municipalities the respect to check-in with them to see if they have the bandwidth and financial wherewithal to accept these individuals into their already over-burdened social services safety-net. What New York City has done does not solve the problem, it exacerbates it,” Tedisco said.