Tedisco to Intro New “Migrant Home Rule Transfer Transparency Act”
July 27, 2023
Senator Tedisco’s legislation would empower local governments and help prevent New York City from hustling migrants off to towns such as Rotterdam and Colonie without communicating with them first and getting their permission
Senator Jim Tedisco today announced new legislation he will be introducing, the “Migrant Home Rule Transfer Transparency Act” to stop New York City from transporting migrants to Upstate communities without notification and getting their permission to ensure these towns, cities and counties are willing and able to take on the burden of hosting these immigrants.
On July 18th, the Super 8 Motel in Rotterdam informed occupants that they were required to leave with no advanced notification. Several of these motel guests receive benefits from the Department of Social Services who had an agreement with the Motel to house the families. As a result of this displacement, many of these occupants have nowhere to go.
Tedisco’s legislation, which is being drafted, says that no municipality shall transfer migrants to another municipality in New York State without first getting a home rule resolution passed by that town/city and county accepting the migrants or rejecting the proposal.
Municipalities such as New York City would have 30 days to notify another town, city, village, and county of their intention of transferring migrants to them. If the receiving municipality does not pass a resolution accepting the migrants, they will have to look elsewhere for one that does. Tedisco’s bill also puts teeth into the law by creating a $1,000 per day per migrant state penalty if New York City or any other municipality transfers migrants without getting a home rule acceptance from the intended host community.
“Let me be clear, I support legal immigration and a path to citizenship, and I have tremendous compassion for those who seek to live in freedom in our great country, but what we currently have is a total failure by the federal government to secure the border and enact common sense immigration policy. Meanwhile, to paraphrase the movie ‘Cool Hand Luke,’ what we have here is a failure to communicate by the Mayor of New York City who beats his chest and purports to lead a sanctuary city but then hustles people off to Upstate communities such as Rotterdam and Colonie without communicating with them and getting their permission. It’s a shameful act of hypocrisy,” said Senator Jim Tedisco.
It’s unconscionable to displace one group of vulnerable citizens that needs housing and services with any other without a proper plan in place and with no communication to those affected locally. That’s why I’m introducing the ‘Migrant Home Rule Transfer Transparency Act’ to empower local governments and help prevent New York City from shuffling off migrants to Upstate municipalities without talking with them first and getting their permission to do so,” said Senator Tedisco.
“Whether a community wants to be a sanctuary for migrants or not, New York City should show our Upstate municipalities the respect to check-in with them to see if they have the bandwidth and financial wherewithal to accept these individuals into their already over-burdened social services safety-net. What New York City has done does not solve the problem, it exacerbates it,” said Tedisco.
