Rockland Reminds Hotels About Continued Ban Of NYC's Migrant Plan

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — The County Executive's Office had letters hand-delivered to all hotels in Rockland last week reminding them the Emergency Order remains active in response to the City of New York’s plan, revealed in May, to temporarily house some migrants in local hotels.

The county is embroiled in lawsuits with the city and at least one hotel over a "decompression" plan the city had in the spring to temporarily house some of the thousands of asylum-seekers that have arrived in NYC since January outside the city limits. Officials in Rockland immediately acted to stop it, starting a cascade of emergency declarations by local officials in nearly half the state.

The orders threatened criminal and financial penalties against New York City and any hotels or other businesses that aided in the relocation of migrants. Some county officials raised fears of crime or overcrowding, while others said they couldn't afford to provide care for the migrants if the city stopped paying for the hotel rooms.

Rockland County's first emergency order was declared unconstitutional by a federal judge June 5.

"Even during oral argument, counsel for the Rockland County Defendant indicated that financial concerns was just one consideration, but concerns regarding 'life, liberty, and property,' was another major concern. When asked what counsel meant by 'life, liberty, and property,' counsel indicated that there would be public safety concerns, and repeated that the having '340 single unemployed men' come in through the program would cause 'mayhem.' No further satisfactory explanation was given by counsel when asked to explain what was meant by 'mayhem' or where the basis for that concern came from," District Court Judge Nelson S. Roman wrote, issuing a preliminary injunction. "The Court agrees with Plaintiffs that there is enough on the record and as reflected during the oral argument that invidious, discriminatory concerns was one of the motivating factors for the issuance of the Rockland EO."

The county rescinded that order and issued another in June, which has been extended.

The city was going to put up roughly 300 people in the Armoni Inn & Suites in Orangetown, paying for meals and services as well as rooms for four months. Emergency Order No. 2 accuses the city of planning to "abandon" the migrants after that. It also says the city's program is "discriminatory" but does not elaborate.

It says the migrants are essentially homeless people, although in talking about the issue, Rockland County Executive Ed Day said instead that county officials fear for the future.

"Sending busloads of people to this County that does not have the infrastructure to care for them will likely result in a one-way bus ticket to homelessness," he said in a news release Monday about the letters.

Day also said the emergency order prohibits other municipalities "from foisting their own policies, costs, and responsibilities on this County." The county is arguing in its court cases that as a matter of law, each public welfare district is responsible for the assistance and care of any person who resides or is found in its territory including New York City.

It also argues that the New York City Housing Authority has thousands of empty units and thousands of hotel rooms in the city are unoccupied.

"This order’s sole purpose is mandating good and responsible government," said County Attorney Tom Humbach. "It regulates that government operates within existing laws and reflect the best interests of the electorate of Rockland County."

NYC's lawsuit against Rockland accuses local officials of seeking to "wall off their borders" to asylum seekers through "xenophobic" executive orders that violate state and federal law.

"These counties have implemented misguided and unlawful executive orders premised on false claims that the prospect of a few hundred asylum seekers sheltered at the city's expense across multiple counties constitute an emergency and imperil public safety," said Sylvia Hinds-Radiz, a lawyer for the city.

SEE ALSO:

• Rockland Hails Judge's Ruling In NYC Lawsuit Over Migrants
• Five Hotels Suing Towns, Counties Over Migrant Bans
• Hotel In Orangeburg May Reopen For Guests, Not NYC Migrant Program
• Seeking Asylum And Work, Migrants Bused Out Of NYC Find Hostility
• NYC Plan For Migrants Like 'Human Trafficking' - Rockland County Exec
• Illegal Immigration: National Issue, Local Effects: Rockland