Two-term assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha and four Assembly colleagues joined a protest in the avenue outside the northeast entrance of the capitol building in Albany on June 11 when they sat down in the road and blocked the intersection, risking arrest.
Their purpose was to call attention to a state bill they support titled New York For All, which aims to shield immigrants across the state from president Donald Trump’s deportation policies.
The bill would prohibit on-the-clock police officers and state employees from using public resources to engage in immigration enforcement activities. Police officers would not be prohibited from complying with valid court orders or judicial warrants issued by an independent judge.
Foundering in committee, the bill has 65 co-sponsors in the Assembly and 31 in the State Senate. Michelle Hinchey is one of them.
“All of us have promised our constituents to stand up against fascism, in one form or another,” Shrestha said, herself a Nepalese immigrant, “and making that promise means acting on it no matter how uncomfortable or politically risky that may be …. if we do nothing, then we’re complicit. It’s as simple as that.”
After protests against what many describe as the overzealous enforcement actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement commenced six days ago in Los Angeles, President Trump responded with deployment of the National Guard and the United States Marines in Los Angeles. Deployment of the military for purposes of domestic law enforcement is forbidden by a federal law known as the Posse Comitatus Act.
“While the state’s powers are limited in completely stopping the civil-rights violations that are happening right now, we must all do whatever is in our capacity,” Shrestha said. “What’s at stake is our democracy itself.”
No arrests of protestors or legislators were reported in Albany.
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