NYIC Responds to Trump’s Remarks in Phoenix

August 23rd, 2017

Donald Trump held a campaign rally in Arizona Tuesday night where he defended his response to Charlottesville, hinted that he plans to pardon former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and threatened to shut down the government over funding for a Mexican border wall.

Steven Choi, Executive Director of the New York Immigration Coalition responds:

"Last night Donald Trump stood proudly with disgraced former Sheriff Joseph Arpaio, a man who was convicted of racial profiling, to hold the U.S. government hostage unless Congress agrees to fund his ridiculous border wall. We can not allow ignorant men to bankrupt taxpayers with false promises of safety, even here in New York where Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino vetoed a smart, bi-partisan bill, preferring instead to spend limited local resources to go after immigrants. It's a cheap strategy and and we will fight it at every opportunity."

Background

Last week County Executive Rob Astorino vetoed the Immigrant Protection Act which would protect residents' confidential information, regardless of immigration status, and save limited county resources. The Westchester County Board of Legislators voted 10-5 earlier this month to approve the legislation, with one absent lawmaker; 12 votes are now needed to override a veto. The over-ride vote is scheduled for September 25th.

The Westchester Immigrant Protection Act, which had bipartisan support and fully complies with federal law, regulates the voluntary cooperation between county agencies and federal immigration agents, and ensures that local law enforcement cannot act as federal immigration officials.

Studies have long shown that immigrants are more reluctant to report crime when they fear that police are acting as immigration agents. The Trump administration’s indiscriminate and aggressive immigration crackdown has led to dramatic decreases in crime reporting among immigrants across the country. This decrease makes criminals harder to catch, endangering the safety of all local residents.

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The New York Immigration Coalition is an umbrella policy and advocacy organization for nearly 200 groups in New York State that work with immigrants and refugees.The NYIC aims to achieve a fairer and more just society that values the contributions of immigrants and extends opportunity to all by promoting immigrants’ full civic participation, fostering their leadership, and providing a unified voice and a vehicle for collective action for New York’s diverse immigrant communities.