Putnam Could Become 'Rule of Law' County Under New Legislation

PUTNAM, NY — The Rules Committee of the Putnam County Legislature recently voted unanimously to advance legislation that would prohibit any outside municipality, which includes New York City, from housing migrants or asylum seekers in local facilities without first entering into a shared services agreement.

The committee also voted unanimously to advance a resolution that would declare Putnam County a "rule of law" county.

Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne said he personally presented the issue at the committee meeting, which was attended by about 40 residents who supported both measures. He said he, members of the legislature, and other officials all made note that, despite what opponents claimed, these measures would not prevent existing or future homeless shelters and service providers from operating within the county.

Both proposals are now eligible for a full vote of the county legislature, where they could become codified into local law.

They are similar to two of the three Executive Orders previously enacted as part of the State of Emergency and filed May 22 in response to New York City’s moves to relocate asylum seekers to Hudson Valley counties.

"The City of New York has not been forthcoming or transparent throughout this process. We know for a fact that after promoting the Hudson Valley as a destination for their migrant placement program, their representatives contacted at least one facility in Putnam," Byrne said. "Like the experiences reported by our neighboring counties in Orange, Rockland, and Dutchess, this was done without any coordination with county officials."

Last month, Byrne sent a letter to hotels, motels, and temporary residencies in the county asking for their cooperation and transparency in communicating if they received an inquiry from New York City officials or representatives regarding rooms for migrants. They were informed that one facility had been contacted asking for a 6 month to 5-year contract to house individuals, and that the facility declined the offer.

Byrne said county officials believe that the emergency declaration and corresponding executive orders worked as intended, because to their knowledge, New York City has not had further conversation with local facilities. However, he said, "Executive Orders are effective but are for responding to emergencies and not viable as a long-term solution."

The emergency declaration was similar to those issued by Orange and Rockland counties in May. A federal judge ruled that those two were unconstitutional because, the ruling said, the emergency orders "expressly" classify persons "based on national origin and alienage" and contemporaneous, comments made by county officials suggest "discriminatory motive." Rockland rewrote its emergency declaration afterward.

Thursday, the New York Civil Liberties Union sent letters to county and town leaders including Putnam about their executive orders, saying the attempts to exclude recently arrived immigrants are unlawful and discriminatory. "Each letter calls for the immediate cessation of all efforts to unlawfully bar immigrants from their borders," a NYCLU spokeswoman said.

The "rule of law" county designation would "recommit" the county’s law enforcement relationship with federal immigration enforcement agencies in addition to its support of the U.S. Constitution, state Constitution, County Charter, and other laws, Byrne said. The designation makes it clear Putnam County, while a "compassionate county, is definitively not a 'sanctuary county,'" he said.

He alleged that the "sanctuary" designation serves as a magnet for people considering migration to the United States.

He also said that asylum seekers need services, and that the federal government should provide them.

Putnam Legislature Chairman Paul Jonke said, "Putnam County does not have the resources to take on the burden that New York City has chosen to accept" by declaring itself a "sanctuary city" for the purpose of barring police from communicating directly with ICE about residents who had been arrested.

"I’ve heard from many of my neighbors about this migrant issue. We’re trying to be as transparent as possible in this process, especially in the wake of New York City failing to be honest with communities north of Westchester County," said Rules Committee chair Toni Addonizio. "I supported the County Executive when he declared a state of emergency with regards to this migrant crisis, and it’s why I pushed for us to make some of these rules permanent."

The framework for the resolution was created by the American Legislative Exchange Council six years ago. ALEC, a national collaboration of corporations and conservative politicians that drafts model bills, defined "Rule of Law Communities" as "jurisdictions where local governments pledge to work with federal immigration officials to uphold the law in state and federal constitutions."

It's a take on the phrase "rule of law" that the Center for American Progress criticized in its 2019 report "Restoring the Rule of Law Through a Fair, Humane, and Workable Immigration System."