Migrants sit in a queue outside The Roosevelt Hotel that is being used by the city as temporary housing, July 31, 2023, in New York. AP photo

Chautauqua County’s state representatives are weighing in with five bills aimed at the state’s migrant crisis.

Assemblyman Andrew Goodell, R-Jamestown, has drafted five bills for consideration in the state Assembly that state Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, will carry in the state Senate. Two of the bills would reverse state policies aimed at former President Donald Trump’s attempts to deport illegal immigrants while the other three bills would require the same level of vaccinations and background checks for migrants and asylum seekers as are required for the rest of New York’s residents.

Bill numbers have yet to be assigned by the Assembly clerk, a process that can take a couple of weeks. The Post-Journal obtained copies of the legislation as drafted by Goodell.

TRUMP FIGHTS

Goodell and co-sponsor Angelo Morinello, R-Niagara Falls, want the state to reverse legislation passed in the 2019 budget titled the “One Day To Protect New Yorkers Act” that changed the maximum sentence for misdemeanors to 364 days, which allowed undocumented immigrants convicted of a misdemeanor to avoid deportation. The law also reduced past misdemeanor sentences of one year in jail to 364 days and allowed past misdemeanor convictions to be vacated to allow defendants to replead and be resentenced.

Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement data for 2022 states that, nationally, 46,396 noncitizens with criminal histories were arrested, with an average of 4.3 charges per individual. That includes more than 20,000 charges or convictions for assault, 5,500 for weapons offenses, 3,500 for homicide-related offenses and 1,100 for kidnapping.

“This bill will increase the maximum sentence for a misdemeanor to one year to ensure that immigrants who commit crimes against innocent New Yorkers will face possible deportation,” Goodell wrote in his legislative justification. “This legislation will result in fewer criminals on the streets of New York, lower criminal activity and safer neighborhoods.”

The second bill reversing a Trump-era policy, also co-sponsored by Morinello, will require New York law enforcement officers to report the arrest of undocumented immigrants to federal immigration authorities and cooperate with civil detainers. Anticipating changes to federal immigration enforcement when Trump took office in 2017, the state Attorney General’s office released legal guidance to provide localities and local law enforcement with model laws and policies to become “sanctuary” jurisdictions. Those policies include:

≤ refusing to enforce non-judicial civil immigration warrants issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Customs and Border Protection;

≤ denying federal requests to hold uncharged individuals in custody without a judicial warrant or probable cause to believe an individual has committed a crime;

≤ limiting access of ICE and CBP agents to individuals currently in custody; and

≤ limiting information gathering and reporting that will be used exclusively for federal immigration enforcement.

Goodell and Morinello propose requiring New York’s police agencies to report the arrest of undocumented immigrants to federal immigration authorities and cooperate with civil detainers. The bill effectively reverses the 2017 guidance and would require state and local police to help deport undocumented immigrants who engage in criminal activity.

“Ironically, however, New York state has attempted to thwart the fair and equal enforcement of the law as it applies to a particular group of people — illegal immigrants,” Goodell wrote. “Rather than cooperate with federal law enforcement officials, New York state and various local governments in 2019 passed various ‘sanctuary state’ or ‘sanctuary city’ laws that made it illegal for New York law enforcement officers to cooperate with federal officials to enforce the law as it applies to illegal immigrants. Since then, New York state has been flooded with undocumented immigrants, creating a horrific fiscal and humanitarian crisis in New York City and elsewhere. This legislation makes it clear that New York state shall no longer attempt to thwart the enforcement of federal immigration law and will instead cooperate fully with federal immigration officials.”

VACCINATIONS, BACKGROUND CHECKS

Goodell also proposes two laws dealing with vaccinations and health background checks for undocumented immigrants. The first would amend the Social Services Law to require undocumented immigrants to submit to the same level of health background check as lawful immigrants who come to the United States with a visa, including meeting the same vaccination requirements, to use certain state resources. Those who are identified with serious diseases would be required to consent to and receive appropriate treatment. The second bill would require undocumented immigrant students to have the same vaccinations required of all other public school students before attending school. Students transferring into a school in New York state typically have 30 days to get the required vaccinations.

“This legislation makes clear that undocumented students must likewise obtain the same level of vaccinations, subject to the same exemptions, within the same timeframe,” Goodell wrote. “The rationale for requiring student vaccinations is to protect those students from contracting various infectious diseases, and to protect their fellow students from exposure to those diseases. This rationale applies equally to every student, regardless of whether the student has always resided in New York state, moves to New York state from another state or country, or is in New York state without lawful documented immigrant status.”

The second bill would amend the Social Services Law to require undocumented immigrants submit to the same level of background checks as lawful immigrants to receive public assistance benefits. Goodell wrote in his legislative justification that immigrants who come to the United States with a visa submit to a criminal background check to ensure the person is not a convicted felon, falsely claimed citizenship, is a member of a totalitarian party or terrorist organization, and is not a drug addict. The Jamestown Republican said it is unfair to lawful immigrants that undocumented immigrants don’t have to follow the same rules, while the lack of a background check can place New York residents at risk.

“The failure to require an undocumented immigrant to submit to the same level of background checks as a lawful immigrant is fundamentally unfair to those who follow the law and obtain a lawful immigrant status,” Goodell wrote. “In addition, the failure to identify convicted felons, members of terrorist organizations and drug addicts places innocent New Yorkers at greater risk. The background checks required by this legislation would help identify potentially dangerous undocumented immigrants.”