A04181 Summary:

BILL NOA04181
 
SAME ASSAME AS S00316
 
SPONSORReyes
 
COSPNSRMitaynes, Mamdani, Otis, Simon, Weprin, Epstein, Gallagher, Gonzalez-Rojas, Glick, Cruz, Kelles, Septimo, Taylor, Rivera, Rosenthal, Carroll R, Clark, Forrest, Shrestha, Levenberg, Raga, Burdick, Hevesi, Cunningham, Meeks, Bores, Jackson, Alvarez, Fall, Zaccaro, Tapia, Anderson, Simone, Kim, De Los Santos, Seawright, Chandler-Waterman, Romero, Valdez
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd §2, add Art 29 §900, Cor L
 
Prohibits governmental entities from entering into agreements to house individuals in immigration detention facilities; requires governmental entities to terminate existing contracts for the detention of individuals in immigration detention facilities.
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A04181 Actions:

BILL NOA04181
 
01/31/2025referred to correction
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A04181 Committee Votes:

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A04181 Floor Votes:

There are no votes for this bill in this legislative session.
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A04181 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A4181
 
SPONSOR: Reyes
  PURPOSE OF BILL: Prohibit the entering, renewal, or continuation of immigration detention contracts.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section one is the title of the bill. Section two amends Article 1 Section 2 of correction law to include two new subdivisions defining the terms "immigration detention facility" and "immigration detention contract." Section three adds a new article 29 to the correction law. This article prohibits governmental entities from entering into or renewing an immi- gration detention contract or receiving any payments related to immi- gration detention. This article also prompts any governmental entities with existing immigration detention contracts to exercise the termi- nation provision in the contract no later than ninety days after this law takes effect. Section four contains a severability clause. Section five is the effec- tive date.   JUSTIFICATION: Immigration detention is dangerous, undermines public safety, and is a threat to New Yorkers all over the state. Immigration detention harms not only the individuals detained but also their loved ones and communi- ties. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the public health threats that detention centers pose to detained individuals, their loved ones, and the health of all New Yorkers. New York's contracts to profit from the detention of immigrants fuel a larger deportation machine in which people are separated from their loved ones and forced into cages. ICE detention is inhumane and puts people's lives in danger. Many indi- viduals in ICE detention have not been accused of or convicted of crimi- nal offenses. People in ICE custody endure horrific conditions including outbreaks of COVID-19, sexual abuse, denial of health care, harassment by guards, and, unsanitary conditions. On November 28, 2022, ICE released the private information of over 6,000 detained people fleeing persecution and torture. We cannot wait for the Federal government to end detention. States and local governments must lead the way. Reducing bed-space and limiting detention capacity results in less enforcement and detention. The Detention Watch Network Report, If You Build it, They Will Fill it, demonstrates that immigrants in counties with detention space and counties with an overall higher carceral capac- ity are significantly more likely to be arrested and detained by ICE. One of their key findings was that closing detention facilities is a crucial shift to protecting immigrant communities by reducing enforce- ment, detention, and deportation. The Orange County Correctional Facility ("OCCF"), which incarcerates most of the ICE detainees from New York City and has the largest, popu- lation of people in ICE custody in New York outside of the Federal detention center in Batavia, has been the subject of numerous complaints2, City Council hearings, and investigations this past year in response to ongoing outcry against the rampant abuses inside the facili- ty. People incarcerated at OCCF initiated a hunger strike on February 16, 2022, to protest conditions. Those who went on hunger strike reported retaliation, including solitary confinement, confiscation of tablets, and restricted access to commissary. On February 28, 2022, The New York City Council Immigration Committee held an oversight hearing on COVID-19 in Immigration Detention, with a particular focus on the harms at Orange County Correctional Facility. During the hearing, people who were formerly or currently detained at the facility shared stories of the abuse and harassment they suffer at the hands of guards, the low quality of food, and lack of access to medical and mental health care, and ' compromised access to counsel. Although the reports on OCCF are the worst in the State, there have been reports of other facilities that detain immigrant New Yorkers that have caused harm through gross negli- gence. Complaints have also been filed against Rensselaer County Jail in response to egregious living conditions and medical negligence. After their oversight hearing, the NYC Council adopted a resolution, Res ' 0066-2022, on March 10, 2022, calling on the NYS Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign the Dignity Not Detention bill. In the furtherance of justice, public interest, and the safeguarding of humane treatment for all individuals in New York, and in accordance with the State legislature's authority over its counties and municipalities, this legislation seeks to end current immigration detention contracts and to indefinitely prohibit new contracts of the same. It is already illegal in New York state for private enterprises to profit from incarcerating people. New York passed this law because it was widely recognized that it was neither a humane practice nor in the public interest. And yet, the indirect profiteering from the same activ- ity is still permitted in New York. It is the intent of the Legislature that this bill declare that the state does not tolerate profiting from the incarceration of people held in immigration detention. State and local governments have no obligation to participate in immigration enforcement as the enforcement of civil immigration laws is the exclu- sive responsibility of the federal government. As the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department, recently affirmed, the New York Criminal Procedure Law provides no authority for police officers and peace officers in New York to make arrests for civil immigrations violations absent a judicial warrant. This legislation adds to these existing restrictions by prohibiting governmental entities from entering, renewing, or continuing immigration detention contracts. This bill is supported, among other organizations, by the Committee on Immigration Representation of the NYS Bar Associ- ation, the NY Civil Liberties Union, the NY Immigration Coalition, and the Bronx Defenders.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2023-2024 - Referred to Correction 2021-2022 - Referred to Correction   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: TBD   EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediately. https://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/ sites/default/files/IP/020TheyI/020 Build 96201t,%2010n20Will%20 Filr/0201TReport2022. pdf 2 https://www.law.nyu.edu/sites/default/ files/OCCP/020MultiOrganizationI/0 20DHS%2OCRC0/020ComplaintY020and%20 Index_2%2017%202022.pdf
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A04181 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          4181
 
                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    January 31, 2025
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of A. REYES, MITAYNES, MAMDANI, OTIS, SIMON, WEPRIN,
          EPSTEIN, GALLAGHER,  GONZALEZ-ROJAS,  GLICK,  CRUZ,  KELLES,  SEPTIMO,
          TAYLOR,  RIVERA,  ROSENTHAL,  R. CARROLL,  CLARK,  FORREST,  SHRESTHA,
          LEVENBERG, RAGA, BURDICK, HEVESI, CUNNINGHAM, MEEKS,  BORES,  JACKSON,
          ALVAREZ,  FALL,  ZACCARO, TAPIA, ANDERSON, SIMONE, KIM, DE LOS SANTOS,
          SEAWRIGHT, CHANDLER-WATERMAN -- read once and referred to the  Commit-
          tee on Correction
 
        AN ACT to amend the correction law, in relation to enacting the "Dignity
          Not Detention Act"
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited  as  the  "Dignity
     2  Not Detention Act".
     3    §  2.  Section  2  of  the correction law is amended by adding two new
     4  subdivisions 35 and 36 to read as follows:
     5    35. "Immigration detention facility" means any building,  facility  or
     6  structure  used, in whole or in part, to house or detain individuals for
     7  civil immigration violations.
     8    36. "Immigration detention agreement" means any  contract,  agreement,
     9  intergovernmental  service agreement or memorandum of understanding that
    10  authorizes a state or local government to house  or  detain  individuals
    11  for civil immigration violations.
    12    §  3. The correction law is amended by adding a new article 29 to read
    13  as follows:
    14                                 ARTICLE 29
    15                      IMMIGRATION DETENTION AGREEMENTS
    16  Section 900. Immigration detention agreement.
    17    § 900. Immigration detention agreement. 1. The state, county,  munici-
    18  pality,  a  unit  of  local  government, a county sheriff, or an agency,
    19  officer, employee, or agent of the state,  county,  municipality,  or  a
    20  unit of local government shall not:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00485-01-5

        A. 4181                             2
 
     1    (a) Enter into or renew an immigration detention agreement; or
     2    (b)  Receive any payment related to the detention of individuals in an
     3  immigration detention facility.
     4    2. The state, county, municipality, a  unit  of  local  government,  a
     5  county  sheriff, or an agency, officer, employee, or agent of the state,
     6  county, municipality, or a unit of local government shall not:
     7    (a) enter into an agreement of any kind for the detention of  individ-
     8  uals in an immigration detention facility owned, managed or operated, in
     9  whole or in part, by a private entity;
    10    (b)  pay, reimburse, subsidize, or defray in any way any costs related
    11  to the sale, purchase, construction, development, ownership, management,
    12  or operation of an immigration detention facility that  is  or  will  be
    13  owned, managed, or operated, in whole or in part, by a private entity;
    14    (c)  receive any payment related to the detention of individuals in an
    15  immigration detention facility owned, managed or operated, in  whole  or
    16  in part, by a private entity;
    17    (d)  otherwise  give any financial incentive or benefit to any private
    18  entity or person in connection with the  sale,  purchase,  construction,
    19  development,  ownership,  management,  or  operation  of  an immigration
    20  detention facility that is or will be owned,  managed  or  operated,  in
    21  whole or in part, by a private entity; or
    22    (e)  approve  a zoning variance or issue a permit for the construction
    23  of a building or the reuse of existing buildings or  structures  by  any
    24  private entity for use as an immigration detention facility.
    25    3.  The  state,  county,  municipality,  a unit of local government, a
    26  county sheriff, or an agency, officer, employee, or agent of the  state,
    27  county,  municipality  or  a  unit  of local government with an existing
    28  immigration detention agreement shall exercise the termination provision
    29  contained in the immigration detention agreement no  later  than  ninety
    30  days from the date on which this article takes effect.
    31    4. No person, business or private entity shall own or operate an immi-
    32  gration detention facility within the state.
    33    5.  Notwithstanding  any  other  provision  of  law  to  the  contrary
    34  contained in any general, special, or local laws, in any dispute over an
    35  immigration detention agreement with the state, the provisions  of  this
    36  section shall govern.
    37    § 4. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
    38  sion,  section  or  part  of  this act shall be adjudged by any court of
    39  competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment  shall  not  affect,
    40  impair,  or  invalidate  the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in
    41  its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph,  subdivision,  section
    42  or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
    43  ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
    44  the  legislature  that  this  act  would  have been enacted even if such
    45  invalid provisions had not been included herein.
    46    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
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A04181 LFIN:

 NO LFIN
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A04181 Chamber Video/Transcript:

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