Newsday - ‘Sanctuary state’ in name only

State legislators are moving to designate New York as a “sanctuary state,” even though arrests of hundreds of people over the weekend demonstrate that the label “sanctuary” in cities including New York and Chicago might have only symbolic meaning.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers reportedly arrested more than 600 people in 11 states; that included people in Staten Island and the Hudson Valley.

State Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan already has dismissed as “unconstitutional” Assembly bills aimed at designating New York a sanctuary state. Even so, State Sen. José Serrano, a Bronx Democrat, has submitted companion legislation in his chamber.

Called the Liberty Act, Serrano's bills would, among other things, prohibit questioning people about their immigration status and forbid government spending to create a registry based on race, religion or national origin.

Serrano’s legislation is in the Senate Finance Committee, and he told The Point that he hopes to “transcend political ideology” to create universal support for the goals. “Every person on every side of the aisle has been touched by this issue,” Serrano said. “As people gain a better understanding, I hope and expect there will be support from all conferences.”

And by that he means all three. The set of bills designed to push back against President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration policies is sure to test the Senate’s Independent Democratic Conference, eight Democrats who are conferencing with Flanagan’s Republicans, presumably to advance their version of a progressive agenda.