Orange, Rockland barred from enforcing county orders targeting migrants

Orange and Rockland counties can’t enforce their month-old executive orders aimed at barring asylum-seekers in New York City from relocating to the suburban communities, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday.

U.S. District Court Judge Nelson Roman issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the counties from enforcing their local bans targeting migrants.

The ruling cited numerous discriminatory comments by the county executives in both communities in finding the roadblocks in place there were motivated by impermissible bias.

The narrow order doesn’t apply to proceedings in state court that also challenge Mayor Eric Adams’ plans to send hundreds of migrants north, meaning the city administration’s bid to ease pressure on its overburdened shelter system still could be upended.

Nonetheless, the New York Civil Liberties Union, which challenged the Orange and Rockland orders on constitutional grounds, hailed the judge’s ruling as a victory.

Instead of playing politics with the lives of some of the most vulnerable, our state must uphold its legacy of being a beacon of refuge and new beginnings.

Amy Belsher, NYCLU senior atttorney

“Today’s decision sends a loud and clear message not only to Rockland and Orange counties, but to all of the counties who have issued these discriminatory executive orders: the Constitution does not allow you to build walls around your county limits,” said Amy Belsher, the NYCLU's director of immigrants’ rights litigation.

In a statement, Rockland County Executive Ed Day, a Republican, said his administration is considering “all legal options including an appeal of the decision.” He also took aim at New York City and its Democratic mayor.

“These people are heading to New York City because it is a sanctuary city and instead of living up to that declaration of sanctuary, Mayor Eric Adams and the city is exporting them to neighboring municipalities across the state of New York, including Rockland County,” Day said.

Orange County officials were not immediately available for comment.

References to 'these people'

Last month, Rockland County declared a state of emergency in response to New York City’s “program to rapidly increase the number of migrants” sent to the northern suburbs.

Among other restrictions, Day's order barred municipalities from contracting to “transport persons, including but not limited to migrants or asylum seekers to locations in the county, or to house or shelter such persons at locations in the county for any length of time” without the county executive’s permission.

An executive order from Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus implemented similar restrictions, prohibiting “all hotels, motels and/or any facilities allowing short-term rental” from “accept[ing] said migrants and/or asylum-seekers for housing within Orange County.”

Roman wrote that “the record shows that the desire to exclude migrants and asylum-seekers into the community was a motivating factor in issuing the” Orange County order.

Roman cited contemporaneous comments by Neuhaus, including his referring to migrants as “these people;” stating “I am opposed to these asylum-seekers being sent to our communities;” and this aside, “are they going to be walking around your kid’s elementary school.”

Roman noted that the Rockland order expressly classifies people based on national origin and alienage. Further, “contemporaneous, racially charged comments” by Day “suggests discriminatory motive in the issuance” of the executive order there.

Roman highlighted Day's reportedly referring to migrants as “within that cadre of people who are not vetted, we have child rapists, we have criminals,” and as “MS-13” gang members. Day, Roman wrote, commented on Facebook that he would not allow the relocation program to “destroy this county.”

The ruling said there was 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” executive order.

The city has accommodated more than 70,000 migrants since spring of last year, and it only recently relocated some 300 or so migrants north to account for dwindling shelter space in the city.

“Instead of playing politics with the lives of some of the most vulnerable, our state must uphold its legacy of being a beacon of refuge and new beginnings," Belsher said in the statement.