PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Zachary Ahmed, Senior Policy Counsel at New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU)
5:05:22
ยท
176 sec
Zachary Ahmed from NYCLU addresses the upcoming Trump administration and Mayor Adams' stance on immigration policies. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining and strengthening New York City's sanctuary laws and offers recommendations for the City Council to protect immigrant communities.
- Urges the passage of Intro 214-2024 to create accountability for violations of sanctuary laws
- Recommends developing legislation mandating specific steps for agencies to implement existing laws
- Suggests creating an independent commission to monitor compliance with disentanglement laws
Zachary Ahmed
5:05:22
Hi.
5:05:24
Is my time starting yet?
5:05:26
Okay.
5:05:27
Good afternoon.
5:05:28
My name is Zachary Ahmed.
5:05:29
I'm sorry.
5:05:32
Good afternoon.
5:05:32
My name is Zachary Ahmed.
5:05:33
I'm a senior policy counsel at the New York Civil Liberties Union.
5:05:36
I know time is very limited today, so I'll try to be brief.
5:05:39
And I did submit, written testimony in advance.
5:05:41
So I'd refer you to that for more robust recommendations.
5:05:45
We are all aware of the context of today's hearing, with, president-elect Trump's inauguration coming up in a matter of days.
5:05:52
And the anxiety about what lies ahead is only heightened by mayor Adams' disgraceful embrace of Trump and apparent eagerness to work with his administration to detain and deport people.
5:06:01
For more than 3 decades, our city has had in place policies that limit how city employees can interact with immigration authorities.
5:06:07
These policies have been in place in different forms under Democratic and Republican mayors and have more recently been codified into law.
5:06:14
Yet the mayor appears poised to abandon this legacy.
5:06:17
Notwithstanding some of the more positive testimony we heard from the mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs this morning, we have also heard and observed the mayor's words and actions.
5:06:27
The mayor has cozied up to Trump.
5:06:29
He has gone out of his way to criticize and undermine the city's well established sanctuary laws, and he has repeatedly hinted at rolling back those laws while remaining big about how he might try to do so.
5:06:39
This is a dark moment for our country and an uncertain moment for our city, but it's also an opportunity for the city council to exercise its authority and both maintain and strengthen our city's commitment to immigrants.
5:06:50
Threats by the mayor aside, I wanna focus on just a few, things that the council can do right now to make sure that our duly enacted laws in play that we have in place serve their purpose.
5:07:01
First, if others have testified to, it's imperative that the council take up and pass intro 214 of 2024, sponsored by council member Hanif.
5:07:08
Our laws can't function without accountability, and this bill would serve as an important deterrent for those who might maliciously violate the law and turn people over to ICE, as we know has happened, and as others have testified to.
5:07:20
Second, the council should develop legislation that mandates specific steps agencies must take to implement the law.
5:07:27
You know, we heard earlier from the administration that they have issued some general guidance to agencies and begun to roll out some kind of training.
5:07:34
That is a step.
5:07:35
I would love to know what that says.
5:07:37
But it's really unclear to, that it's unclear whether employees know about their obligations with respect to these laws or know what it means in the context of their day to day jobs.
5:07:45
So the council should explore legislation that specifically mandates certain types of implementation.
5:07:51
Finally, really quickly, the city should explore creating an independent commission to monitor compliance with these disentanglement laws and investigate alleged violations.
5:08:00
That would be, an effective use of the city council's power and resources and would help ensure that, we have continued oversight, of how these laws are being implemented, not merely through hearings like this, but on an ongoing and and dedicated basis.
5:08:15
And I'll stop there.
5:08:16
And we did submit written testimony.
5:08:18
Thank you.