As the Trump administration heightens deportations to Caribbean and other countries, immigration advocates and legislators in New York on Wednesday, Feb. 25, called for the immediate passage of the New York for All Act to protect Caribbean and other immigrants.
The New York for All Coalition – comprising, among others, immigration advocates, elected officials, public defenders, civil rights groups, faith leaders, labor unions and legal service providers – on Wednesday rallied at the New York State Capitol in Albany, urging passage of the New York for All Act (A3506B/S2235B) for the 2026 New York State Legislative Session.
The Coalition said the New York for All Act would establish clear limits between state and local agencies and federal immigration enforcement, protecting access to essential services and ensuring Caribbean and other immigrants — regardless of status — can live and work without fear.
The legislation also prevents both formal and informal collusion with federal immigration authorities and prohibits the use of state and local resources and taxpayer dollars to advance federal immigration crackdowns.
The Coalition said while New York Gov. Kathy Hochul recently introduced the “Local Cops, Local Crimes Act,” her proposal would only ban formal 287(g) agreements between local law enforcement and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, and that those protections would expire after three years.
“New York cannot and will not be an arm of a cruel federal deportation machine,” said Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), one of the chief architects behind the New York for All Coalition.
NYIC is an umbrella organization comprising over 200 immigrant and refugee groups in New York State.
NYIC is an umbrella organization comprising over 200 immigrant and refugee groups in New York State.
“We refuse to let our local police be weaponized against immigrant families and New York communities,” Awawdeh said. “At a moment when ICE is terrorizing and killing people across the country, Albany must act with courage to ensure the public safety of all New Yorkers.
“Passing New York for All is a moral imperative to protect our neighbors, defend our values, and make clear that in New York, we stand for dignity and justice for all,” he added.
“By passing the New York for All Act, lawmakers would protect immigrant families from both formal and informal collusion, preserve community trust, and ensure taxpayer dollars are used to serve New Yorkers, not advance federal crackdowns,” Awawdeh continued.
State Sen. Andrew Gounardes, representative for District 26, said his “New York for All Act builds trust between communities and the local government agencies that serve them—the real key to public safety.
“It’s past time to pass this bill and make it unequivocally clear: New York stands with our immigrant neighbors, and New York is for all of us,” he added.
Assembly Member Karines Reyes, District 87, said that, “for far too long, ICE has relied on the collusion of law enforcement to scrutinize our essential hard-working immigrant communities of color.
Assembly Member Karines Reyes, District 87, said that, “for far too long, ICE has relied on the collusion of law enforcement to scrutinize our essential hard-working immigrant communities of color.
“We must pass the New York for All Act to prevent ICE from using our local resources to wrongfully place people into their custody, separate families, and deport fellow New Yorkers,” she said. “Our immigrant communities are over-policed and racially profiled to continue having a predatory federal agency prowling the streets.
“It’s long overdue to pass this bill,” Reyes added. “New Yorkers can’t afford to wait any longer. New York for All must pass now.”
“It’s long overdue to pass this bill,” Reyes added. “New Yorkers can’t afford to wait any longer. New York for All must pass now.”
Assembly Member Brian Cunningham, the son of Jamaican immigrants, who represents the 43rd Assembly District in Central Brooklyn, said that, across his district, “we see every day what happens when people from every corner of the world are given the chance to contribute, build businesses, raise families, and call New York home.
“But that promise is under attack,” he warned. “When ICE raids tear families apart, and local law enforcement is weaponized against our neighbors, everyone becomes less safe, immigrant and native-born alike.
“I am proud to cosponsor the New York for All Act to make clear that New York will not be complicit in any cruel deportation agenda,” Cunningham added. “Our state resources should protect New Yorkers, not be used against them.”
Linda Flor Brito, senior manager of policy & organizing, Immigrant Defense Project, said that “while several other states have passed statewide protections to protect immigrant families against the collusion between law enforcement and ICE, New York has yet to take any action.
“The police-to-deportation pipeline disproportionately impacts Black and brown communities who face the brunt of ICE’s racist policing,” she said. “The New York for
“The police-to-deportation pipeline disproportionately impacts Black and brown communities who face the brunt of ICE’s racist policing,” she said. “The New York for
All Act remains the strongest piece of legislation that would end our state’s complicity in the disappearance of New Yorkers, the separation of families, and the state-sanctioned violence being carried out by the Trump administration.
“New Yorkers deserve and need the full and permanent protections provided by New York for All now,” Brito added. “Anything less would be a betrayal to our communities.”
Kelsey Pirnak, advocacy manager, Vera Institute of Justice’s Advancing Universal Representation Initiative, said New York “state and local resources must not be used to advance a federal crackdown that cruelly separates families and destabilizes communities.
“The New York for All Act would deliver comprehensive and lasting statewide protections to end collaboration with ICE and ensure public resources serve New Yorkers, not a cruel deportation machine,” Pirnak said. “At a moment of escalating fear and uncertainty, Albany must act decisively to end federal entanglement, strengthen community trust, and ensure the safety of all New Yorkers.”
