Yesterday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo held a press conference announcing that he had sent a “cease and desist” letter to ICE demanding an end to illegal ICE searches and arrests in New York State. The governor also modified an existing executive order to prohibit entry into most New York State facilities by ICE without a judicial warrant.
The “cease and desist” order comes after an upsurge in apparently unconstitutional searches and seizures of immigrants by ICE on Long Island, in New York City, and at farms Upstate. Particularly worrisome are recent arrests at courthouses in Queens which have prompted walk-outs by Legal Aid attorneys outraged at ICE’s violations and at the courts’ failure to block them.
Cuomo accuses ICE of engaging in “blatant constitutional violations” in his letter. The governor says that their actions, including the targeting of immigrant activists and the handcuffing of a farmer Upstate attempting to video an ICE raid, were aimed at using force to limit criticism of ICE.
Cuomo’s letter can be read here.
