Advocates praise Hochul for backing immigration bill she doesn’t support

Some immigrant advocacy groups appear to have jumped the gun this week when they praised Gov. Kathy Hochul for supporting a bill that would expand sanctuary protections around the state.

On Tuesday, the Hochul administration’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion sent out a newsletter with a variety of updates from the office, notices of upcoming events and highlights of parts of the governor’s agenda. The email was signed by Julissa Gutierrez, Hochul’s chief diversity officer. “This year, my office is embracing the theme New York for All – a reflection of our values as a state that stands unwaveringly for equity, opportunity, and justice for all,” the newsletter read.

That phrase – “New York for All” – happens to be the name of legislation that immigrant advocates have been pushing to pass for several years. The New York for All Act would codify certain sanctuary policies that currently exist only in regulation or executive order and otherwise largely prohibit public officials at all levels of government in the state from cooperating with immigration officers. It would also expressly prohibit localities from entering into formal agreements with the federal government that allows for cooperation, like the one that Nassau County recently entered. 

At least two immigrant advocacy groups saw the newsletter’s use of the phrase as a signal that Hochul supports the bill and quickly released statements praising her – despite the fact that the newsletter was not signed by the governor and did not include the words “immigrant” or “immigration.”

“We are glad to see that the governor’s office is embracing the New York for All Act, a bill that would ensure that all New Yorkers – regardless of when they arrived in the state – have the freedom to live without fear of being torn away from their families,” said Jose Lopez, co-executive director of Make the Road New York. “We look forward to working with the governor’s office towards our shared goal of making this bill a reality so that everyone has the opportunity to thrive in New York.” The Immigrant Defense Project released a similar statement that said the group welcomed Hochul’s support. “With the Governor's support, it's time for our legislators to take common sense action to stop our local and state agencies from doing ICE’s dirty work by passing New York for All,” said Linda Flor Briton, the group’s senior policy and campaigns organizer. 

There’s just one problem: Hochul’s office denies that the newsletter has anything to do with the legislation, with a spokesperson for the governor telling City & State that the governor has no position on the New York for All Act. “As the Governor says all the time, she will review any bill that passes both houses. It’s incorrect to claim the Governor is taking a position on this bill,” spokesperson Avi Small said. 

The governor has received some pushback from immigrant advocates since last year’s election over comments she has made around working with immigration officials, so her public support of the New York for All Act would have been very significant. “Someone breaks the law, I'll be the first one to call up ICE and say, ‘Get them out of here,’” Hochul said in November when City & State asked her how she would approach the incoming president’s plans for mass deportation.

Hochul has since used stronger rhetoric in her defense of immigrant New Yorkers, even as she continues to affirm that state officials would work with federal immigration enforcement to the extent currently permissible when dealing with those who break the law. She offered a strong rebuke of a Department of Justice lawsuit against her and other officials over a state law that permits undocumented immigrants to get driver’s licenses but shields DMV data from immigration agents. But she has never publicly indicated support for specific measures to expand protections for undocumented immigrants, nor has she opined on the prospect of further limiting interactions with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

The immigrant advocates did not offer further explanation for why they believed that the newsletter from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion indicated the governor’s support for the New York for All Act. But they offered something of a challenge to Hochul in response to her spokesperson’s statement that she took no position on the bill. 

“New York for All is an essential bill to ensure that everyone in the state can live free from fear,” Make the Road New York and the Immigrant Defense Project said in a joint statement to City & State. “If it was not the governor’s intent to signal support for it, then she should explain why she believes that not everyone in the state is entitled to protection from family separation.”