The New York City Council has ignored a proposal from a caucus of nine members to revoke some of the city’s sanctuary laws amid a surge of migrant crime endangering New Yorkers.
The Daily Caller reports:
A bipartisan group of nine members on the New York City Council known as the Common Sense Caucus introduced legislation in June that, if enacted, would dial back several sanctuary city policies that prevent local police from working with federal immigration authorities. However, since that bill’s roll out, it has remained stagnant within City Hall with no expectations to move forward any time soon.
The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to every single member of the New York City Council not on the Common Sense Caucus — 42 members total — and asked if they supported the anti-sanctuary city bill or why they supported keeping the current sanctuary city laws in place. Not a single office provided comment.
Council Member and co-chair of the Common Sense Caucus Robert Holden condemned the lack of action and acknowledgement, saying, “When so-called representatives ignore their constituents by refusing not only to put crucial issues like sanctuary city laws on the ballot but also to pass common-sense bills into law, it’s no wonder New Yorkers are fleeing in droves. Elected officials must stop with the social experiments and politically correct movements and start protecting and representing law-abiding citizens immediately.”
Council Member Joseph Borelli added, “The radio silence is unsurprising in that their own constituents are unhappy with the state of the migrant crisis in New York. It’s gone beyond a few extra people in a homeless shelter to envelope our city, cause more crime, and take over our public spaces. It’s unavoidable at this point and progressive council members don’t want to admit that.”
Calls for reforming the city’s sanctuary laws have been growing as New Yorkers continue to deal with an ongoing migrant crisis, with more than 200,000 migrants descending on the Big Apple since the spring of 2022, according to city officials. City taxpayers shelled out $1.45 billion on migrant services in fiscal year 2023 alone.
Several high profile migrant crimes in the Big Apple have brought national attention to the issue, and shown that even in one of the biggest, most diverse and most prosperous cities in the country, local governments have been unable to successfully address or integrate this influx of foreigners from drastically different cultures.
Some recent examples include the 19-year-old Venezuelan migrant who shot two NYPD officers, the Ecuadorian national that raped a 13-year-old at knife point, and the group of Venezuelans violently jumping two NYPD officers.
Borelli also clarified the moderate nature of the bill, specifying that it would only target illegal immigrants that had committed crimes.
“We’re saying when the perpetrator of the crime is the illegal person, at least cooperate with ICE and put them into the Immigration and Customs Enforcement judiciary system.”
The Daily Caller continues:
Borelli said he and other opponents of the sanctuary policies laws attempted to reach out to Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has the authority to temporarily waive local city laws in the state, but so far she has not responded to their outreach. The Common Sense Caucus’ hopes for reform were also crushed when a commission tasked with deciding what issues can be put on the November ballot, giving NYC voters direct authority, opted not to include a referendum on the city’s sanctuary laws.
