Suit Against Rockland Ban On Hotels Housing NYC Refugees Dismissed

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — An executive order banning hotels in Rockland County from housing refugees relocated from New York City will remain in place after a judge dismissed a challenge from the NYCLU.

On Thursday, County Executive Ed Day and County Attorney Thomas Humbach announced that Rockland County had successfully fended off the New York Civil Liberties Union federal lawsuit claiming that a County of Rockland executive order unconstitutionally barred migrants from traveling to or residing in the county.

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The county convinced a judge that the emergency order had a narrow scope to address specific overreach from New York City and was not put in place to dissuade migrants from coming to Rockland County of their own accord.

“On our motion, the court agreed that the case was moot," Humbach said in astatement following the judge's ruling. "It became irrelevant when the County Executive clarified it to focus on the real problem, New York City illegally opening a shelter in our County. that point, there are no grounds for continuing the case."

In the spring of 2023, County Executive Ed Day issued an Emergency Order in response to the New York City program the county officials said amounted to establishing unlawful city shelters in Rockland County to house migrants and asylum seekers. Within 60 days of the City of New York’s plan becoming public, 38 out of 57 counties, and three towns across the state followed Rockland County’s lead and declared their own states of emergency, according to county officials.

"Our Local Emergency Order never barred anyone from coming to the County," Day said. "The only thing this County’s order did was bar Mayor Eric Adams from overstepping his authority by luring people out of New York City with predatory marketing and advertising and turning Rockland hotels into city-run shelters with no regard for law, zoning, or our capacity on hand."

Rcokland County successfully argued that as a matter of law, New York City’s public welfare district is responsible for the assistance and care of any person who resides or is found in its territory. The judge agreed that the objective of the order was to prohibit New York City or any other municipalities from establishing shelters in Rockland.

"The disputed order's sole purpose was to mandate good and responsible government, and to force New York City to operate within existing laws," Humbach said.

SEE ALSO:

• 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