Putnam Hails Dismissal Of NYC Suit Against The County Over Migrants

PUTNAM COUNTY, NY — A state Supreme Court judge ruled Wednesday to dismiss Putnam County from a lawsuit brought by New York City over "xenophobic" executive orders banning the city from setting up temporary housing upstate for asylum seekers.

NYC sued nearly half the state's counties in June in an ongoing battle between city officials and local leaders.

"The Court has already issued numerous orders with respect to 28 respondents named in the instant petition, accordingly the Court now addresses the remaining respondents, County of Rockland, New York, Edwin J. Day, in his official capacity as County Executive of Rockland County, County of Orange, New York, Steven M. Neuhaus, in his official capacity as County Executive of Orange County and County of Putnam, Kevin M. Byrne, in his official capacity as County Executive of Putnam County," Judge Lyle E. Frank wrote.

First, he noted, Putnam County did not extend its Executive Order. "Accordingly, as this Court has held with similarly situated respondents, the petition is dismissed as against the Putnam County respondents."

It's welcome news, County Executive Kevin Byrne told Patch on Thursday.

"This lawsuit was merely another dishonest attempt by the City to foist its responsibilities on other local governments. From the beginning we were confident in our actions and aggressively defended them in the public and in the courts," he said. "I’m thankful to our outside counsel for their assistance in this matter and because of the swift resolution of this case, the cost to taxpayers has been minimal."

New York City has struggled to care for an influx of asylum seekers in recent months, converting hotels and houses of worship to shelters as Mayor Eric Adams repeatedly declared that the city had reached its limit on new arrivals.

In May, the city's plan to bus hundreds of migrants to hotels north of the city became public and instantly controversial.

It triggered a cascade of emergency declarations by local officials, starting with Rockland and Orange counties in the Hudson Valley. 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.

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

Byrne sent a blunt letter to Mayor Eric Adams in May.

Byrne told Patch that he wrote the letter after an hour-long conference call with Adams, members of his administration, and several regional officials.

"I give the mayor some credit in that he definitely took the time to speak, listen and answer questions from a concerned and in some cases a hostile audience," Byrne said at the time.

In the letter, he told Adams that the city's actions had sparked outrage, fear, and confusion throughout the region. "While I understand and empathize with your desire to help these individuals, you must understand that your actions to date have undermined these migrants' cause. By attempting to effectively establish homeless shelters throughout the region, the City is creating far more problems than it solves."

But he also opposed extending the county's state of emergency and executive orders.

"Executive Orders are effective but are for responding to emergencies and not viable as a long-term solution," he said in June.

Instead, Byrne proposed that Putnam have a two-pronged response, with legislation that would prohibit any outside municipality, including New York City, from housing migrants or asylum seekers in local facilities without first entering into a shared services agreement; and with a resolution declaring Putnam County a "rule of law" county.

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.

Byrne said in his first speech as County Executive and in his State of the County address that he wanted the legislature to pass a resolution reaffirming the county’s commitment to the Constitution in its current form.

In June, he said the designation makes it clear Putnam County, while a "compassionate county, is definitively not a 'sanctuary county'." He alleged that the "sanctuary" designation is known by and serves as a magnet for people in other countries who are considering migration to the United States.

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."

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