Legislature Hires Lawyer to Combat Migrant Issue

Following a raucous public meeting Thursday with both sides of the illegal immigration debate heckling each other, Suffolk legislators voted to hire a special counsel as they explore legal options to block the possible relocation of migrants to the county. The move comes as Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York Mayor Eric Adams scramble to find housing for up to 72,000 asylum seekers and others from over a hundred different countries who have been brought from the U.S. southern border to the “Sanctuary City.”

The measure, introduced by Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey and supported by 10 Republican legislators and one Democrat, passed 11-6. The special counsel will advise on potential litigation and assess whether Suffolk can seek reimbursement or damages from other municipalities that look to locate migrants in the county, according to McCaffrey, who did not identify the new counsel.

Legislators favoring the action argued that an influx of migrants would put an enormous strain on county services, schools and programs for the homeless and veterans that Suffolk taxpayers, among the highest taxed in the nation, couldn’t sustain. Opponents yelled “shame” at the bill’s supporters deeming them racist and accusing them of inflaming tensions among minority communities.

“I spoke to a representative of the governor's office who told me that New York City is calling every single hotel and motel in New York State to see if they had vacancies,” McCaffrey said at the meeting in Hauppauge, adding that Hochul confirmed in a conference call with county leaders that 72,000 migrants have been transported to the city at the rate of about 300-400 per day. Referencing New York’s self-adopted Sanctuary City status, border states such as Texas and Arizona have targeted the Big Apple for the relocation of migrants who county officials say are streaming across the southern border in record numbers thanks to the Biden administration’s open door policy.

Addressing the county legislature as they consider hiring a special counsel to provide options on how to handle a potential influx of immigrants is Skyler Johnson of Port Jefferson Station, a member of the Long Island Social Justice Action Network File Photo

As GOP legislators were organizing a Sunday press conference to announce their push for the special council, County Executive Steve Bellone, a Democrat, issued an emergency order prohibiting hotels, motels, and shelters from contracting with New York City or other entities to house the migrants. The order calls for county involvement in attempts to locate housing for illegal immigrants in any of Suffolk’s 10 towns. Bellone’s action, which set up a special task force to handle the situation, followed an emergency order by Riverhead Supervisor Yvette Aguiar prohibiting the use of town lodging establishments for migrants.

With an estimated 45,000 immigrants currently in city shelters, approximately 27,000 are unaccounted for, McCaffrey reported. “We don’t know where these people are, so people are waiting to see if they're coming to Suffolk County,” the presiding officer said. “I think there's a very good chance that they are already here living with friends and family.” McCaffrey pointed out that many are waiting for work authorization and are part of an “underground economy.”

The Republicans voting for the special council referenced the drain on social service resources, emergency services and schools caused by the new arrivals arguing that the county taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to pay for a problem caused by policies at other levels of government.

David Mindel, who said he was homeless living in his car, makes a statement with a sign outside the Suffolk Legislature in Hauppauge as lawmakers considered the hiring of a special counsel to provide options on how to handle the immigration crisis File Photo

“Immigration is a wonderful thing for the country; it's what built our country,” Legislator Nick Caracappa said before the vote. “I don't want immigrants coming over here to face the same issues they were facing where they came from such as hunger, homelessness, medical issues. We have that here now. If anyone's been in communities like mine and you see hundreds of people lined up for food, they’re starving, and those lines are going to increase tenfold because we don't have the resources to feed everybody.”

Speaking against the measure were members of the clergy and migrant support groups who invoked the memory of Marcelo Lucero, an Ecuadorian immigrant who was murdered in Patchogue in 2008 by a white gang in charging that the legislators were fueling anti-immigrant hatred. They were backed up by opponents of the bill who clashed with supporters during a public portion of the meeting, which the legislators voted to extend so that the dozens who lined up to comment could be heard. The presiding officer had to struggle to maintain decorum at times and some protesters had to be removed by Suffolk Sheriffs.

In voting against the bill, Legislator Samuel Gonzales said, “I fear this is going to cause civil unrest. There is animosity in the people l see before me, a disgust against each other, hatred in their eyes. I’m so worried about what’s going to happen if this resolution passes.”

Seconding the motion to approve the legal counsel was Legislator Trish Bergin, who argued that the county could not afford a migrant influx. She said if the federal funds the county received during the COVID crisis were pulled back, as some in Congress are proposing, Suffolk would be “bankrupt” and its finances would sink to “junk bond” status.

“The Strain on our school systems is going to be extraordinary,” McCaffrey continued,” echoing a report that the Central Islip School District has seen an influx of up to 20 new enrollees per week. “How do you deal with that? How do you budget for that?” he asked. “It’s a burden that's going to be on our taxpayers, our emergency medical services, our police, our rescue companies.”

Suffolk joins other counties across the state in weighing its options, with Niagara, Onondaga, Orange, and Rockland counties already securing court orders to stop the migrant flow.

Two legislators flipped sides on the vote with Republican Manuel Esteban saying no and Democrat Tom Donnelly a yes. An announcement from Suffolk GOP Chairman Jesse Garcia quickly followed the vote. “The Republican Majority in the Suffolk County Legislature once again demonstrated leadership by taking the first steps to push back on the failed immigration policies of the Biden Administration, Gov. Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams,” he said in a fundraising appeal to support the legislators. “The attempts of the Democrats to paint these actions as racist is insulting and inaccurate.”