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Judge in Rockland, Orange migrants case expresses skepticism over orders keeping them out
By
Arun Venugopal
Published Jun 1, 2023
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By
Arun Venugopal
Published Jun 1, 2023
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A federal judge on Thursday expressed skepticism over executive orders issued in Orange and Rockland counties barring hotels from accepting asylum seekers from New York City.
District Court Judge Nelson Roman made no ruling in a lawsuit by the New York Civil Liberties Union, which is challenging the prohibitions issued in the two counties. But lawyers for the county governments and the NYCLU both acknowledged that Roman made his doubts evident.
Roman appeared “a bit frustrated that they [Orange and Rockland lawyers] wouldn’t concede what’s very obvious on the face of the order, in that they’re discriminating against migrants and asylum seekers,” Amy Belsher, a senior attorney at the NYCLU, told Gothamist. The plaintiffs alleged the executive orders are unconstitutional.
Thomas Humbach, the county attorney for Rockland County, acknowledged the judge’s doubts about the emergency orders. The measures followed Mayor Eric Adams' plans to relocate hundreds of asylum seekers upstate as a means of relieving overcrowded city shelters.
“I would agree with that,” Humbach said of the characterization of Roman’s comments. “I would say there are things the judge said that are skeptical.”
LoHud.com, which covers Rockland and Westchester counties, reported that Roman in the court hearing repeatedly likened the executive orders to Jim Crow restrictions. He said the restrictions were “like a Jim Crow law – not that I’m saying it is.”
The parties are expected back in the White Plains courtroom on Monday.
Some 186 migrants have been relocated by the city to hotels in Newburgh. A county judge issued a temporary bar preventing the city from sending more. The city has accommodated more than 61,000 asylum seekers since early 2022, many of the new arrivals bused to the city by border-state elected officials.
Humbach rejected the notion that the counties were driven by anti-immigrant sentiment, arguing that Rockland has thousands of residents who are immigrants.
“This is really about the lack of inter-governmental communication and cooperation that’s necessary in a case like this,” said Humbach, adding that New York City is “short-circuiting things and just making things happen unilaterally, with no regard to the law, in terms of zoning, in terms of minimum standards for setting up shelters, things like that.”
In its lawsuit, the NYCLU said Rockland County Executive Ed Day made “racist and incendiary accusations.”
“Executive Day speculated that migrants intending to relocate to the county may be ’child rapists,’ ‘criminals’ or ‘gang members,’” the NYCLU said in a statement.
On Wednesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul urged upstate officials who have tried to prevent asylum seekers from arriving to remember “where their parents and grandparents came from,” the Daily News reported.
Tagged
immigration
Asylum Seekers
orange county
migrant children
rockland county
White Plains
Race And Justice Unit
Arun Venugopal
Arun Venugopal is a senior reporter for the WNYC and Gothamist Race & Justice Unit who focuses on issues of race and bias in our region. His reporting also tackles the topics of immigration, faith, and inequality. Arun serves as the regular fill-in host of the station's "U.S. of Anxiety" program. Arun was the creator and host of Micropolis, a series about race and identity. He is a contributor to NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered. He has appeared on PBS Newshour, On the Media and Studio 360, and has been published in The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal and Salon. He also frequently serves as an emcee and moderator of panel discussions on race, religion, and identity issues and has been a guest host of NPR's "Fresh Air." He lives with his family in Queens.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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