Attorney General James Fights to Protect Immigrant Communities and Public Safety in Rochester

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today took action to stand up for vulnerable immigrant communities in Rochester. In an amicus brief filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, Attorney General James emphasized that localities with laws that limit local authorities’ involvement in federal immigration enforcement keep communities safe and allow local law enforcement to use resources to address local public safety priorities, such as fighting crime and reducing gun violence. Attorney General James further argues that Rochester’s longstanding law, often referred to as a “sanctuary city” law, is constitutional because the Constitution grants states and their localities power over the day-to-day public safety of residents within their jurisdiction. In the brief filed today, Attorney General James asks the court to grant judgment in Rochester’s favor in the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit against the city.

“For years, these laws in Rochester and cities throughout New York have kept New Yorkers safe,” said Attorney General James. “The Trump administration’s attacks on immigrant communities are cruel and shameful. Rochester’s law is constitutional, and my office will continue to use every tool at our disposal to protect New Yorkers.”

Rochester’s law, like many other sanctuary city laws, limits local or state agencies’ involvement in federal civil immigration enforcement and is intended to build trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement and ensure local resources are spent on local priorities. Rochester first enacted its law in 1986 and later updated it in 2017. It does not limit cooperation between local and federal authorities on criminal matters. In April, DOJ filed a lawsuit against Rochester, arguing that the city’s law is unconstitutional because it is preempted by federal law. In her brief, Attorney General James argues that Rochester’s law does not violate the Constitution, and that the 10th amendment reserves police power to states and their localities.

Attorney General James writes that the law helps keep New Yorkers safe because it encourages individuals in immigrant communities to report crimes, serve as witnesses, and seek critical medical care or social services without fearing deportation. Studies have repeatedly indicated that greater involvement of local law enforcement in immigration enforcement makes immigrant communities less likely to interact with police, and more likely to become victims of crime or other exploitation. Other research has concluded that immigrant community members often refrain from seeking vital local services, including health care services, when they fear that local officials could report them to immigration authorities. Delaying medical care for fear of deportation can cause serious health complications for people who need it.

Attorney General James explains that imposing federal immigration priorities on already strained local officials can detract from local needs. A former Rochester police chief, who held the position at the time of the enactment of the city’s 2017 law, explained that it was intended to avoid diverting scarce resources and time away from the community’s public safety priorities, like reducing gun violence.

Attorney General James is asking the court to grant judgment in Rochester’s favor in the DOJ’s lawsuit and uphold Rochester’s sanctuary city law. 

Attorney General James has been a national leader in fighting to protect and defend immigrant communities. In July, Attorney General James joined a coalition of 19 other states in defending essential legal services for unaccompanied immigrant children. Also in July, Attorney General James urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to uphold an order blocking the federal government from mass terminating the Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela parole program. Attorney General James also joined a coalition of 17 other attorneys general in supporting the American Civil Liberties Union’s lawsuit challenging the federal government’s use of unlawful immigration enforcement tactics in Los Angeles, California. In June, Attorney General James co-led a coalition of 17 attorneys general in defending hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants who had their legal status threatened after the Trump administration attempted to eliminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS).