Tag: Zohran Mamdani

JHISN Newsletter 09/26/2026

Posted on September 26, 2026 by - News, Newsletter

Dear friends,

This month, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin came to our city and criticized our Mayor and our Governor for refusing to work with the ICE agents that grab New Yorkers off the streets, predominantly in our Queens neighborhoods. He declared the end of the surge of ICE agents, who took over 2,100 people away from friends and families during the previous 2 months. Although declaring that these actions had reduced crime, DHS could only provide details of offenses by 10 people: less than 0.5% of those disappeared. 

We still don’t know whether the end of this surge marks a change in the number of disappearances we see every day. Equally, we still don’t know whether the changes recently announced to Street Vending licenses—the topic of our first article—will improve the lives of the predominantly immigrant vendors awaiting news on their license applications. 

At the end of the month,  mainstream media companies were barred from covering the White House. While that new court battle continues, we focus on the important work of independent journalists and their newsrooms, who do not have the financial backing of corporate media giants. Our second article highlights some critical work these journalists published, revealing significant problems of this administration’s immigration enforcement tactics.

Newsletter highlights:
  1. Changes announced to Street Vendor license availability
  2. The incredible work of independent news reporting

1. New Street Vendor Licenses Bring Some Justice and Some Concerns

“We really want to unlock the economic potential of street vending in New York City, and we want to have their concerns front-of-mind as well.”—Kenny Minaya, Commissioner of the Department of Small Business Services 

There are more than 23,000 street vendors in New York City, and 96% are immigrants. For decades, there has been a cap on the number of licenses available. However, after the City Council passed a package of laws on January 26, 2026, there will be 2,200 new licenses available each year through 2031.

The previous cap on general vendor licenses was 853, and the cap on food cart permits was 6,880. Also, there was a 10,000-person wait list for licenses that was closed in 2016. Many people have been waiting for years. Because of the scarcity of licenses, some vendors have been forced to pay several thousands of dollars to a license holder to “rent” a license. This is common, but not legal. Crackdowns on unlicensed vendors increased under Mayor Adams, with sweeps like “Operation Restore Roosevelt” in Queens and a ban on unlicensed vendors on the Brooklyn Bridge. The original package of reform bills was vetoed by Adams.

In March, Mayor Mamdani established the Office of Street Vendor Services as part of the NYC Department of Small Business Services. At the time, he said, “Our street vendors are not a problem to solve—they are a community to support. They feed us, employ us, and give our streets life at every hour.” The first executive director is Carina Kaufman-Gutierrez, co-director of the Street Vendor Project at the Urban Justice Center. She has been advocating for street vendors for seven years and keeping them up to date on regulations.

The package of new laws includes for training, cleanliness around carts, and proper trash disposal, as well as reducing any violations to civil charges instead of arrests on criminal charges.

There is a complicated procedure to apply for the new licenses. The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) is administering the process. People on the current wait list will receive priority and were supposed to receive letters in July/August telling them how to apply by October 29. Those not on the wait list can apply from November 2 to December 16. The new licenses will be issued after January 15, 2027.

The problem is that many long-time vendors were never able to get a spot on the current wait list because it closed in 2016. DCWP plans to provide new wait lists, but wants to ensure that people currently vending receive priority over new applicants. They have proposed vendors self-certify about the length of time they have been vending; however, it isn’t clear how that would work. Vendor leaders suggest that applicants should be required to provide at least one form of documentation to prove they have long-term vending experience. During a public hearing on August 19 about the new rules, City Councilmember Pierina Sanchez, who sponsored and fought for the new licensing bill, said:

“I am concerned that relying too heavily on self-certification of prior vending activity could allow longtime vendors to be pushed aside. Implementation must include a meaningful, fair process to verify existing vendors and ensure those who endured years of exclusion are not left behind again.”

Her suggestions for certification documents were sales tax certificates, vendor-related summonses, wholesale receipts, photos or letters from customers and local officials. In addition, she urged that the process include instructions and assistance available in languages spoken by vendors.

If the reform is successful, longtime vendors will receive licenses and be able to participate without fear in New York City’s economy.

What Can We Do?
  • Continue to patronize your favorite vendors.

2. Revealing Investigations into ICE

Almost exactly a year ago, ICE agents rappelled from Blackhawk helicopters during a raid on a building in Chicago. The story was so unbelievable that the fact-checking site Snopes had to confirm that it was real. 37 people were taken, and the government’s public statements suggested they were members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. 

Last month, the podcast “Paper Trail” released a 40-minute update on the in-depth reporting done by the nonprofit newsroom ProPublica. The reporters revealed both the human stories about the immigrants disappeared by Homeland Security as well as the lack of veracity of the government’s sweeping allegations about the raid. It also shows the significant effort that goes into both finding and reporting this information with facts.

There were no warrants. A dozen children were separated from their parents. The people taken had open asylum cases and were legally in the country. Only three people had US criminal records. Data from Interpol and Venezuelan law enforcement had no records showing any of them were in gangs. The accusation of gang membership was never raised by the federal government in their court cases. Jessica Lussenhop, host of Paper Trail, reported that, “Of all the people they arrested, there was not a single criminal charge filed. Not one. Against anybody.”

Some of those arrested left the USA through the “voluntary departure” program; others were deported. The few women with US-born children were sent home inside the US. Within a few months, an investigation was opened by the Illinois Department of Human Rights into possible illegal activity related to the raid: Was there discriminatory action taken by the landlords to use the federal government to evict illegal immigrants from their building in that urban military-style raid? 

These independent journalists and newsrooms keep us aware of the government’s storytelling of the past while tackling what is happening in the present. We recognize and applaud their work, which brings us the crucial truths about how this government attacks people and wields fear, with its tired narrative about immigrants being the source of all problems.

These independent reporters, news agencies, and photojournalists do their work in the face of increasing state violence. The newsletters JHISN shares with you would not be possible without their invaluable efforts. We rely on them, and they rely on their subscription base to keep them doing this work. We hope you can subscribe to and support them, share their reporting broadly, and join with the Freedom of the Press Foundation to Hold ICE Accountable.

What Can We Do?

 

In solidarity and with collective care,

Jackson Heights Immigrant Solidarity Network (JHISN)

 

Follow @JHSolidarity on Facebook and Twitter and share this newsletter with friends, families, neighbors, networks, and colleagues so they can subscribe and receive news from JHISN. 

JHISN Newsletter 06/27/2026

Posted on June 27, 2026 by - News, Newsletter

Dear friends, 

When good immigration news is hard to find, we look harder. The notorious Alligator Alcatraz detention camp in Florida is fully shut down as of this week, less than a year after it opened with sadistic fanfare from Trump’s minions. We hope, with many of you, that the expansion of Mayor Mamdani’s political power with this week’s primary victories will strengthen a pro-immigrant, anti-authoritarian agenda. And a Trump lawsuit targeting four NJ cities for allegedly “unconstitutional” sanctuary policies was just tossed out by a federal judge.

But the bad news is really terrible. Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling that allows the federal government to continue stripping Temporary Protective Status (TPS) from hundreds of thousands of US residents is a nightmare. Most immediately, 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians are now facing the reality of losing their TPS legal status by July 1—a loss that will affect everyone who is their neighbor, co-worker, healthcare patient, or friend.   

Our newsletter covers some of the mixed good/ bad immigration news out of this year’s NYS legislative session, which ended in early June. We then update you on the ongoing legal campaigns—and harassment—of two high-profile international students from Columbia University targeted for deportation.

Newsletter highlights:
  1. NY State Legislature gestures toward immigrant protections
  2. Deportation threats to Mohsen Mahdawi and Mahmoud Khalil

1. Latest NY State Legislation Falls Short On Immigrant Protection

On May 21, NYS Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie noted that the 2026-27 state fiscal budget includes legislative provisions, signed by the governor, that protect our neighbors throughout New York from aggressive federal immigration enforcement. He suggested that local governments will be prohibited from collaborating with federal immigration enforcement officers and private detention facilities. He highlighted provisions that “will protect children in their schools and establish sensitive locations within our communities.” The official press release received endorsements from various elected officials, including Queens Assembly Member Catalina Cruz.

The perspective of immigrant justice supporters of the New York For All Act—proposed legislation which was never brought to a vote in the state legislature—was markedly different. The multi-organization coalition advocating for New York For All said, “The lack of political courage and moral leadership in Albany – and the failure to take a bold stand in the face of rising xenophobia – means that New York’s immigrant communities will continue to live with the threat that any encounter with government agencies can result in separation from their families.” 

The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) outlined some of the Enacted Budget’s key elements, explaining which protections were included or fell short:

  • State and local employees may not gather information about immigration status, and cannot share personal data of NY residents with ICE…but the police are excluded from this restriction.
  • “Sensitive locations,” including hospitals, churches, and private homes, can deny entry to ICE agents. 
  • The right to free public education for children, regardless of the family’s immigration status, was established.
  • State and local agencies may not rent space to ICE for immigration detention nor financially support immigration detention facilities.
  • New Yorkers can sue local, state, and federal officials in state court when their constitutional rights are violated using the newly established Office of Immigrant Trust.

Republicans claim that these new protections mean that “New York is now a sanctuary state on steroids.” But there are, in fact, at least three significant elements missing from the new budget that progressive forces had fought for. First, although the formal 287(g) agreements that allow local governments to work with ICE (previously signed by twelve New York law enforcement agencies) were banned in New York, informal collusion between local police and immigration enforcement was not prohibited—that was called for in the New York For All Act. Murad Awawdeh, Executive Director of the New York Immigration Coalition, noted, “The legislative package falls short of offering comprehensive protections by continuing to permit informal law enforcement collusion with ICE and Border Patrol.”

Second, state-funded counsel for immigrants facing deportation, part of the Access to Representation and the BUILD Act, was not included in the budget package. Although some money was secured for immigrant legal services, it was less than half of the $175 million called for by immigrant advocates.

Finally, the new measures banning face coverings for state, local, and federal officers in New York still allow for “tactical equipment” that covers faces.  Even with this legal loophole permitting ICE to deploy with tactical face masks, the federal government initiated a lawsuit against New York four days before the face mask ban was scheduled to go into effect. The Department of Justice has also initiated legal action against New Jersey, California, and Virginia, which sought similar mask restrictions. 

The New York Bar has explained why many of the items demanded and signed into law do not violate federal laws about police power and preemption. None of those explanations will stop the threats from Homeland Security to conduct an ICE surge in NYC. Passing the entire New York For All Act would help strengthen legal action against the overreach and violations of basic rights by ICE and border patrol federal agents.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

2. Deportation Threat Ongoing for Palestinian Student-Activists at Columbia University

 “[T]he administration is abusing immigration law to silence me for speaking the truth about Palestinian suffering and genocide. When a government weaponizes immigration to punish speech, millions of immigrants and citizens feel that blow.” —Mohsen Mahdawi (June 10, 2026)

In Spring of 2025, Mohsen Mahdawi and Mahmoud Khalil, both Columbia University students, became two of the most prominent faces of international student-activists targeted for their Palestine solidarity work. The newly-installed Trump regime quickly weaponized immigration law and accusations of antisemitism to incarcerate both young men in its broader campaign to silence and punish university-based mobilizations against the US-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza.

Both men are Palestinian. Khalil was born in a refugee camp in Syria; Mahdawi in a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. Khalil is a graduate of Columbia’s prestigious School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA); Mahdawi is currently enrolled in the MA program at SIPA. Both are green card holders and legal US residents. Both were accused of nothing beyond the “memos” from Secretary of State Marco Rubio stating that their presence in the country might undermine US foreign policy goals. Both were eventually released from detention after public outcry and legal challenges. 

And … both are still threatened with deportation through legal proceedings pursued by the federal government, even as their names have faded from most headlines.

Their ongoing legal battles differ. An immigration judge in February 2026 ruled that the deportation case against Mohsen Mahdawi be dismissed. Trump’s DOJ fired that immigration judge (unlike other judges, immigration judges serve at the will of the federal government) and appealed the decision. The US Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) ruled that the deportation case could go forward, and Mohsen’s case went to a second immigration judge who this month issued an order of removal that would send Mohsen to Jordan. Nevertheless Mohsen remains in the US while his legal team challenges the deportation order in the First Circuit Court on constitutional grounds. Mohsen declared:

“… I’m going to cut to the core of this issue, which is an issue that is related to the First Amendment. Do I have, as a green card holder, as a lawful permanent resident for 12 years, never committed a crime — do I have the rights that actually the citizenship questionnaire that I get tested on states that I do … do I have the right to free speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of expression?” —on Democracy Now! (June 12, 2026)                                                              

Mahmoud Khalil’s case is on a different track, though he also is protected for now from a deportation removal order that has been set in motion. His legal team made a second appeal in May 2026 to the US Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) to dismiss the deportation case against him, after new revelations of government misconduct. The Trump regime is accused of “secretly engineering” the outcome of his case. The allegations of misconduct are corroborated by statements from former immigration judges, former BIA workers, and accumulating evidence that top government officials pressured judges to “decide” cases with predetermined outcomes in spotlight cases like Khalil’s, and to expedite deportation orders. One legal decision against Khalil was handed down by the BIA in a mysteriously speedy nine days. 

Meanwhile, a legal challenge in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals was decided in late May against Khalil, and a new challenge was immediately filed by his team in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which also separately requested a Supreme Court review of the Third Circuit decision. “We hope the Supreme Court will recognize how dangerous the Third Circuit’s decision was, not just for Mahmoud but for other non-citizens the administration has its vengeful sights upon,” said Baher Azmy, legal director at the Center for Constitutional Rights.

Regardless of the outcome of their cases, Mohsen and Mahmoud remain targets of merciless legal harassment through a federal government campaign to deport them—and to silence, repress, and frighten others who would speak out.  

Columbia University has to date made no public statements in support of Mohsen, a current student, or Mahmoud, a recent graduate. The University has been operating since July 2025 under an unprecedented “settlement”’ with the Trump regime, in which the University paid the government $221 million, and agreed to a set of institutional changes demanded by the federal government. One of those demands was that the University start asking all international applicants “questions designed to elicit their reasons for wishing to study in the United States.” Or, in the words of Marco Rubio, “we are not going to be importing activists into the United States.” 

WHAT CAN WE DO? 
  • Join the weekly vigil every Monday at 12pm near Columbia’s campus to protest DHS and ICE targeting of students, organized by CUIMC Stands Up.

 

In solidarity and with collective care,

Jackson Heights Immigrant Solidarity Network (JHISN)

 

Follow @JHSolidarity on Facebook and Twitter and share this newsletter with friends, families, neighbors, networks, and colleagues so they can subscribe and receive news from JHISN. 

JHISN Newsletter 04/25/2026

Posted on April 25, 2026 by - News, Newsletter

Dear friends,

Remain vigilant? Breathe a temporary sigh of relief? The mass targeting of immigrants for deportation in central Queens has not yet materialized. We share recent wisdom from Queens Neighborhoods United: “[W]e can’t always live in fear that ICE is around, and we can’t pretend that ICE is never around. Finding a balance and arming ourselves with information to inform our day-to-day lives is important.” Find a balance; stay informed; build and hold our collective strength.

Yet, every day, police violence against immigrants continues, and our first article highlights the pursuit of justice for two Queens families shattered by NYPD shootings in their homes.

Our second article dives into the mess of government propaganda, misinformation, missing data, and realistic “best estimates” of the number of immigrants in the US who have been recently detained and/or deported. Who really counts in US society? All those whose lives have been upended by a revved-up mass detention and deportation machine deserve to be counted.

Newsletter highlights:
  1. Where is justice for two Queens families shattered by NYPD violence?
  2. Checking the numbers on US detentions and deportations

1. Justice for Win Rozario and Jabez Chakraborty!

On March 27, 2024, struggling with a mental health crisis in his Ozone Park home, 19-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant Win Rozario called 911 for help. What showed up was two aggressive cops, who provoked, tased, and gunned him down without mercy in front of his family.

“After shooting Win, the NYPD forced Win’s mom and brother to go to the precinct immediately, refusing to let them accompany Win to the hospital. Win’s mother and brother were separated and interrogated without lawyers and before being notified that Win had died. The NYPD then refused to let the Rozario family back into their apartment for over 48 hours, refusing to let them retrieve critical medications or even feed their cat. It took the advocacy of the Public Advocate to get the Rozario family back into their home – which the police had neglected to clean up after murdering Win.” —The Justice Committee

In September 2025, NYC’s Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) found that Officers Matthew Cianfrocco and Salvatore Alongi used excessive force and abused their authority. But so far, they have not faced any consequences. State Attorney General Letitia James refused to prosecute the cops, a decision the family called “cowardly.” Potential disciplinary action is now at the discretion of New York Police Commissioner Tisch, who is considered likely to order the loss of some vacation days—or no punishment at all. Only Mayor Mamdani can overrule whatever she decides.

This April 1, the Rozario family and local immigrant justice group Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM) led a demonstration at Diversity Plaza, solemnly marking the second anniversary of Win’s murder and calling on the city to fire Cianfrocco and Alongi:

“Win’s mother shared her experiences and demands: ‘I can’t believe two years have passed and still the police have not been punished… I want to say that police should not be sent to respond to situations involving illness or mental health crises. Otherwise, more families like mine will be forced to live with this emptiness and grief.’” —@DRUMNYC

The Diversity Plaza protest also mobilized support for another Queens immigrant family brutalized in a similar way by the NYPD. Jabez Chakraborty, 22, who lives with schizophrenia, was shot by cops in a January 2026 confrontation that his family insists was completely unnecessary.

“We are shocked and outraged by the NYPD’s treatment of our son and brother, Jabez Chakraborty, and our family. We called for help. We called 911 for an ambulance to provide medical attention for our son, who was in emotional distress. We did not call the police. Instead of medical responders, the NYPD arrived and shot our son multiple times right in front of us.” —Chakraborty family, 1/30/26

Although he was severely wounded, Jabez Chakraborty survived. But District Attorney Melinda Katz rushed to arraign him on assault and weapons charges as he lay chained to his hospital bed—ignoring objections from Mayor Mamdani.

“What purpose does it serve to punish someone who needed medical and mental health care, and got bullets instead? This shooting was not an isolated incident: it’s a devastating example of how our systems repeatedly fail the most vulnerable New Yorkers.” —Fahd Ahmed, Executive Director of DRUM

WHAT CAN WE DO?

2. The Reality Behind Detention & Deportation Propaganda Numbers

“We know of no reliable count of the total number of deportations during the first year of the Trump administration.” — Deportation Data Project (January 2026)

Those managing the anti-immigrant agenda of Trump and his hatemongering Homeland Security advisor, Stephen Miller, regularly obfuscate their arrest, detention, or deportation numbers. Such transparency problems are not new. Before Trump took office in 2024, the American Immigration Council (AIC) published Transparency Recommendations identifying numerous legally mandated reporting requirements that ICE failed to fulfill. The AIC reported that ICE, under Biden, was “severely undercounting the number of people it has in immigration detention.” In July of last year, Robert Garcia, a representative on the House Committee on Homeland Security, stated, “I actually just don’t trust numbers the administration is putting out, and I don’t think the American public should.” Thankfully, the diligent work of non-profits and university researchers does serve as a lighthouse in the fog.   

The number of people processed through the deportation machine is obscured by the administration’s hyperbolic statements. Only through the independent work of organizations, reporters, and pro bono lawyers, who process Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits to delve into Homeland Security data, can we get a sense of how many people are actually being processed through the deportation machine.

In March of last year, TRAC Reports won a major FOIA case against ICE and CPB when a court rejected all the government’s arguments for withholding records. In November 2025, TRAC released a report about detention and removals after the massive deployments of military and civil immigration enforcers: “The data show surprisingly little has been accomplished given the huge expenditure of resources devoted to this effort.” The increase in ICE removals under Trump in 2025 was reportedly only 7% higher than the 2024-25 numbers under Biden.

Before Trump’s second inauguration, data on border arrests, deportations, and other immigration metrics were published twice a month (as mandated by the DHS funding bill). An April 2026 visit to the DHS website finds that the immigration websites have not been updated since 2024. ICE Detention and Repatriation data has also not been updated since 2024. The 2025 numbers reported by Homeland Security on its detention management site are severely limited. Even a high school student’s online ICE Tracker project is making a better attempt than Homeland Security to share this data publicly.

While TRAC Reports highlighted the many data errors in ICE data releases, the Vera Institute of Justice reported that the “failure [of ICE] to regularly release accurate, complete, and accessible data is part of what enables it to operate this multi-billion-dollar network with little oversight or accountability.” With the support of the Deportation Data Project, the Vera Institute published its December 2025 report on ICE Detention Trends in 1,464 facilities. If the ICE reports from August of last year are accurate, then the 61,226 people detained by ICE is the highest ever level of detention. 

“First, ICE arrests quadrupled, including both street arrests and transfers from criminal custody to ICE immigration custody. ICE street arrests (i.e. arrests not at jails) went up by over a factor of eleven. Street arrests at this order of magnitude are a new phenomenon. For both types of arrests, ICE was much less likely to target people with criminal convictions. These changes led to over a sevenfold increase in arrests of people without criminal convictions.”—Deportation Data Project


Transfers from Jails and Prisons Doubled and Street Arrests Increased by 11x—Deportation Data Project

The self-deportation component of the Miller-Trump strategy, despite a significant increase in numbers, failed spectacularly to deliver its promise as a cost-effective way to remove immigrants rapidly. Last September, DHS posted self-aggrandizing statements, and Kristi Noem talked about self-deportation numbers, which came from an estimate by the anti-immigrant think tank CIS that did not even use DHS data. 

Homeland Security spent $200M on ads (created by agencies with direct ties to DHS staff) to urge self-deportation through the incongruously named Project Homecoming. The “voluntary” project claims to offer applicants a free plane ticket and a stipend of $1,000, recently increased to $2,600. Data review confirmed around 25,000 people registered for self-deportation on the CBP mobile app. Only half of those actually returned home with DHS support. The others face delays in paperwork processing, have not received payments, and still await their flights home. Immigration attorneys indicate their lack of trust in the program. In reality, only a minority of immigrants are eligible for those incentives to leave: those who do not meet the requirements are simply handing over their information and risking detention. 


Voluntary Departures Increased by 28x—Deportation Data Project

Although the government’s Project Homecoming data is questionable, reliable data shows that the number of court cases ending in “voluntary departure” increased to 35,000—over three times those during the previous year. Looking at New York specifically, under Biden, less than 1% of people arrested by ICE opted for voluntary departure—today it is 22%. People are also deciding to self-deport without government intervention—but even at the point where they are boarding flights to return home, they are still being detained and handed over to ICE agents.

The end goal of this administration is really not just about deportation. It is about enabling white nationalism and authoritarianism through racial profiling, eroding constitutional rights, scapegoating and subjugating immigrants, and weaponizing a massive private, for-profit prison system. 

WHAT CAN WE DO?

 

In solidarity and with collective care,

Jackson Heights Immigrant Solidarity Network (JHISN)

Follow @JHSolidarity on Facebook and Twitter and share this newsletter with friends, families, neighbors, networks, and colleagues so they can subscribe and receive news from JHISN. 

 

 

JHISN Newsletter 02/28/2026

Posted on February 28, 2026 by - News, Newsletter

Dear friends, 

It has been a wild winter in New York City since our last newsletter, and we hope this finds you warm and well. Our previous newsletter also landed in your inbox the day, January 24, that Alex Pretti was murdered in the street by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) in Minneapolis. Alex Pretti and Renée Nicole Good, both US citizens, join six immigrants who died in ICE custody in January—Luis Gustavo Núñez Cáceres, Geraldo Lunas Campos, Víctor Manuel Díaz, Parady La, Luis Beltrán Yáñez-Cruz, and Heber Sánchez Domínguez—to make January 2026 a dreadful, deadly start to this new year of mass deportations.  

Today’s newsletter looks at the ongoing campaign to pass NYS legislation, the NY4All Act, that would strengthen protections for immigrants in the face of federal government attacks. Our second article reflects on how local sanctuary policies can help defend against the many border transgressions the Trump regime carries out in its selective “border war” against immigration.

Newsletter highlights:
  1. New York for All legislation: Can the New York State Assembly stand up?
  2. Protecting the borders we need: Local sanctuary against ICE incursions.

1. Pass NY4All Act Now, Or NY Will Have Normalized the Trump/Miller Agenda

“Silence is complicity. Inaction is complicity. We have the tools to protect our immigrant communities and we must use them. Federal immigration enforcement is cruel, chaotic, and unconstitutional. New York will not be complicit.” —Kristen Gonzalez, NY State Senator.

A February campaign by the NYCLU stated: “Pass the New York for All Act. Fight back against Trump’s mass deportation agenda and protect immigrant communities in New York.” That was back in 2020. The NY4All Act, if passed, would have prohibited the use of New York’s local and state resources to support federal immigration enforcement. That could have helped us stand in the courts with more challenges to the escalating inhumanity of the US deportation operations. The campaigns documented the social and economic benefits we would gain if New York’s communities did not cooperate with ICE. But no legislative action was taken.

Throughout the last six years, the cruelty of the detention and deportation machine has increased. Advocates like the New York Immigration Coalition, Make The Road New York, The Bronx Defenders, the Immigrant Defense Project, labor unions, the Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys, and many other groups have continued to lobby Albany. They all demand the passage of the New York for All Act. In February 2025, NY legislators even reintroduced the Act because the guidance from NYC’s then-mayor Eric Adams was legally confusing. But no legislative action was taken.

On January 12, 2026, after the murder of Renee Good by ICE agents in Minneapolis, a NY For All: March For The Disappeared rally took place in Albany. Advocates returned once again to the state capitol on January 26–just days after the ICE murder of Alex Pretti–to demand passage of NY4All. Then, at the end of last month, Governor Kathy Hochul suddenly proposed her own Local Cops, Local Crimes Act. The purpose of Hochul’s act is to end the ‘weaponization’ of local police against their own communities by banning the 287(g) agreements that require them to cooperate with ICE. Even though many organizations, like the Asian American Federation, support this as a first step, the overwhelming preference of all groups is to pass the more substantial NY4All Act. 

There is concern that Hochul’s proposal might, in fact, preempt the NY4All Act and its more robust protections. As Assemblymember Dr. Anna Kelles pointed out, the 287(g) agreements that Hochul focused on are just one of the many proposals in the NY for All Act. Missing from Hochul’s proposal are additional safeguards, “designed to prevent immigration enforcement from happening through routine questioning, record keeping, database practices, probation operations, and behind-the-scenes information sharing.”

In addition to the NY4All Act, there are even more legislative proposals that Albany can pass to protect NY residents:

These many proposals are ready for the legislature to pass: let us demand our elected officials do more than just create media bites opposing ICE and, instead, take legislative action to protect our communities. A new proposal was even added this month, by Westchester’s State Senator Shelley Mayer, to prohibit ICE from gaining access to schools without a judicial order. The NYCLU, with the New York for All Coalition, published a press release urging Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart‑Cousins to work with the NY4All bill’s sponsors. One of the sponsors of the original 2020 New York for All Act said she had no explanation for why state Democrats have not pushed to vote on the bill:

“There is no reason to delay its passage any longer. As lawmakers, we have an obligation to not just speak out, but to actually pass legislation that will protect our immigrant communities.” —Julie Salazar, State Senator.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

2. Sanctuary Keeps Us Safe: The Borders in Our Backyards

On a recent Saturday afternoon, you may have seen them on 37th Avenue or Northern Boulevard: neighbors out in front of local TD Banks, flyering. You may have taken a flyer in English, or Urdu, or Spanish, or Hindi or Chinese or Bangla. You may have gone into the TD Bank, as the flyer suggests, to complain to a manager about TD Bank allowing ICE to use their parking lot on Northern as a staging area for harassing and arresting neighbors in Jackson Heights, Corona, and Elmhurst.

The Trump regime’s mass deportation campaign—hyperfunded by citizens’ and immigrants’ tax dollars—is violating a whole lot of borders as they escalate their border wars against migration. The border between local private property and federal un/lawful operations is transgressed when ICE or CBP (Customs and Border Patrol) uses TD Bank or Home Depot property to launch the targeting and arrests of community members. The border between municipal policing and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents’ activities is violated when the federal government tries to coerce local police to participate in federal enforcement. (Governor Hochul, as reported above, has recently proposed legislation that would bar NYS police from cooperating with ICE).

Most profoundly, the border between targeting crime—of so-called “illegal” aliens—and systematically committing crimes is blown up when Trump’s ICE/ CBP minions engage in breaking and entering, jailing people who are never charged with a crime, murdering US citizens, and illegally holding thousands of US residents in detention deemed unlawful by US courts.

What is at stake in this reckless violation of borders between private and public, local policing and federal persecution, or fighting crime and carrying out crimes? The politics of state terror and generalized fear require that none of us feel there is refuge or a reliable haven from arbitrary, even fatal, federal government violence. A key reason that sanctuary laws are under attack by this federal government is precisely because they promise refuge from government harassment, surveillance, and targeting.

Sanctuary laws, including in New York City, try to affirm and regulate the border between community safety and federal immigration enforcement. Drawing on the power and sovereignty granted by the Tenth Amendment of the US Constitution, local jurisdictions argue that sanctuary laws protect immigrant witnesses and victims of crime, and encourage all of us to participate in police and judicial processes without fear. While there is a wide range of sanctuary policies across different cities, counties, and states, almost all are aimed at promoting economic vibrancy and public safety within local communities, preventing local or state agencies from sharing protected data about citizenship status with the federal government, and allowing local or state governments to determine their own priorities and resource allocations. None of the policies actively prevent federal immigration authorities from carrying out their lawful operations.

Now the Trump regime is challenging sanctuary cities and states in the courts. Why? To stomp across the borders that we have drawn around community safety and immigrant solidarity. The DOJ dragged New York City into court in July 2025, and just last week New Jersey was sued by the DOJ for its sanctuary policies. 

This week, NY’s Attorney General filed an amicus brief defending New York City’s laws, stating, “Our city was built by immigrants, and this administration’s attempts to overturn local laws that protect them are unjust and unconstitutional.” On February 6, Mayor Mamdani signed an executive order strengthening the city’s sanctuary policies, requiring city agencies to comply with all relevant laws, and prohibiting ICE from entering city properties (schools, hospitals, shelters) without a judicial warrant.

“We keep us safe.” Let’s protect the borders between public assault and private space, between local jurisdiction and federal overkill. Between community safety and authoritarian threat.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

  • Support Jackson Heights Indivisible’s (JHI) email campaign asking TD Bank to not allow ICE staging operations in its parking lot. Email TD Bank at CustomerAdvocacyandInsights@td.com or Thomas.Rigg@td.com
  • Check JHI’s public calendar for local immigrant solidarity actions.
  • Attend NYIC’s Neighborhood Defense / KYR training at LaGuardia Community College on March 17 from 12 – 1:30 pm

 

In solidarity and with collective care,

Jackson Heights Immigrant Solidarity Network (JHISN)

 

Follow @JHSolidarity on Facebook and Twitter and share this newsletter with friends, families, neighbors, networks, and colleagues so they can subscribe and receive news from JHISN. 

 

JHISN Newsletter 01/24/2026

Posted on January 24, 2026 by - News, Newsletter

Dear friends,

Yesterday, New York City joined protests around the country, standing with striking Minnesotans who have risen in the cold as a powerful anti-ICE voice. They represent a people’s resistance against the always escalating, harmful, militarized tactics of Homeland Security. The entire nation watched a federal agent shoot and kill Renee Good—a poet, mother, and citizen who refused to ignore the inhumane federal deportation operations in her Minneapolis neighborhood.  The president, and others in the administration and blamestream media, peddled the lie that Good was a domestic terrorist who was the cause of her own death. The person who clearly killed Renee Good was not a newly hired agent who lacked training: Jonathan Ross served more than 10 years in ICE’s elite Special Response Team.

While many agree that ICE (established less than 25 years ago) should be abolished, most Democrat leaders appear to be following the guidance of a “Don’t Say Abolish ICE” memo. Written by a former Customs and Border Protection official who is now a corporate consultant for the defense and surveillance sector, the memo advises reforming and retraining ICE. Fortunately, our new Mayor, Zohran Mamdani, remains strong in his stance. He stated on ABC’s, The View, “I am in support of abolishing ICE…We’re seeing a government agency that is supposed to be enforcing some kind of immigration law, but instead what it’s doing is terrorizing people”. 

Today’s newsletter reports on NYC’s now ex-mayor’s veto, just as he left office, of City Council legislation promoting immigrant and economic justice. We then offer an update on battles over Temporary Protective Status (TPS), including the good news of a recent court decision that reverses the Trump regime’s cancellation of protections for Nepali TPS holders. 

Newsletter highlights:
  1. Eric Adams vetoes immigrant justice in cruel exit act
  2. Temporary Protective Status (TPS) under attack: Update

1. Eric Adams’ Last Betrayal

“It is unsurprising that this mayor is ending his term by demonstrating, once again, that protecting and supporting working-class New Yorkers is not his priority. His vetoes put special interests above greater affordability and opportunity for hardworking New Yorkers, and public safety.” — Outgoing City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams

On his last day in office, Eric Adams—a mayor we have long criticized for scapegoating immigrants—vetoed three key pro-immigrant legislative packages that had been passed by large majorities in the City Council. The bills were among a total of 19 measures Adams vetoed, as a final New Year’s Eve “drop dead” to the lawmakers and the people of New York.

One of the vetoed packages aims to regulate and reform street vending. Among its provisions is the long-delayed raising of the cap on the number of vending licenses. Local Councilmember Shekar Krishnan had praised passage of the package as “a historic day for workers.” The legislation became urgent after Mayor Adams, who had promised to raise the cap and dial down punitive enforcement against vendors, made a quick 180-degree turn, joining with right-wing forces in a campaign to uproot and intimidate vendors in Corona Plaza, Roosevelt Avenue, and other parts of the city.

Another veto casualty was Tiffany Cabán’s Safer Sanctuary Act. This would outlaw the establishment of ICE offices on Rikers Island, something that has been contentious throughout Adams’ tenure. That act would also close a loophole in the city’s sanctuary laws, making it clear that the restrictions they place on cooperation with federal authorities would apply to all immigration enforcement agencies, not just ICE.

Adams’ third anti-immigrant veto gave a thumbs down to badly-needed legislation defending deliveristas from a wave of arbitrary “deactivations”—firings—initiated by delivery app companies. The Council measure requires that delivery workers be given a reason for deactivation, the right to appeal, and a 120-day notice before permanent deactivation.

According to city law, once the vetoes were formally registered, which happened on January 7, the Council has 30 days to override them, a process which requires a 2/3rds majority vote. The clock is ticking, with many other priorities competing for legislators’ attention in the new year.

New Council Speaker Julie Menin can strongly influence the fate of the vetoed bills, since she largely controls legislative scheduling and agendas. In practice, she seems unlikely to run out the clock on these three measures, which were all passed with “veto-proof “ majorities. For instance, the measure lifting the vendor license cap was passed by a margin of 39-9, as was the Safer Sanctuary Act. The bill defending deliveristas passed 40-8. Menin is a supporter of sanctuary laws, and was actually a co-sponsor of the street vendor bill.

However, Menin has refused to commit to overriding all of Mayor Adams’ vetoes, saying only that “the Council will consider next steps on these bills.”

NYC lawmakers have been given further impetus to act by ICE’s arrest of one of their own staffers, Venezuelan immigrant Andres Rubio Bohorquez, at a routine asylum interview. Menin and many other Council members have expressed concern and anger at ICE over the data analyst’s detention. This attack on one of their own employees is likely to concentrate the Council’s attention, bringing home how much is at stake for immigrants in their deliberations.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

2. The Ongoing Weaponization Of TPS

“The harm already caused by the administration’s cruel, lawless actions cannot be undone, but we are hopeful that, with this ruling, the new year will bring a measure of justice and peace to the TPS holder community.” —Jessica Bansal, attorney at the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON)

The new year started positively for Adhikaar, the Queens-based group that serves and supports the Nepali-speaking community in NYC. They shared welcome news that a Northern California District Court judge ruled that the Trump administration had illegally ended TPS for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua. Adhikaar applauded the work of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) and other members of the National TPS Alliance who argued the legal case, which affects around 60,000 people nationwide, including thousands of Queens residents.

Ama Frimpong, the Legal Director of CASA, stated that the ruling clearly showed TPS cannot be terminated based on racialized political narratives. Frimpong continued, “This decision is not only a victory for TPS holders from Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal, but an encouraging signal for TPS holders from Venezuela, Cameroon, Afghanistan, and beyond who are fighting to protect their families and their futures.” 

Two days later, after US forces captured and removed the president of Venezuela, Homeland Security Secretary Kristy Noem announced that Venezuelans in the US under TPS had the opportunity to apply for refugee status. There was no hint as to how more than 600,000 people could do that when the US government has limited the total number of refugees per year to just 7,500. A few hours after her announcement, the Homeland Security eX-twitter account denied that Noem had ever said that, and instead reaffirmed that she had ended TPS for more than 500,000 people. The post suggested that, “now they can go home to a country that they love.” Even those Venezuelans who are happy about Maduro’s removal say returning is an extreme risk.

Minnesota has the largest Somali population in the US. Just days after a weekend of national protest in the wake of the ICE murder of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, and Homeland Security’s brutal tactics in the Twin Cities, Trump announced the termination of TPS for Somalis. Ignoring the economic destabilization it will bring, he declared legal protections for Somali nationals enrolled in the TPS program will be ended in two months, on March 17. He claimed that country conditions had improved, an opinion easily contradicted by the work of Freedom House, which has monitored the state of global freedom for 85 years: currently, they give Somalia a Global Freedom Score of 8 out of 100; the US score is 84. 

The day after Trump’s Somalia announcement, the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments for the second of the National TPS Alliance lawsuits, defending Haitians and Venezuelans. A Federal Judge has indicated she will not rule on the Haitian TPS case until February 6, which is just one day before that protection is set to expire. Just as the year began, and our article started with hope from NDLON, so these recent fraught weeks have ended with Ahilan Arulanantham, the Co-Director of UCLA’s Center for Immigration Law & Policy (CILP) stating, “We hope the court will insist the administration comply with the law as Congress intended it to by engaging in an objective assessment of the country conditions in Venezuela.” 

We wonder, is “hope” really enough?

WHAT CAN WE DO?

In solidarity and with collective care,

Jackson Heights Immigrant Solidarity Network (JHISN)

 

Follow @JHSolidarity on Facebook and Twitter and share this newsletter with friends, families, neighbors, networks, and colleagues so they can subscribe and receive news from JHISN. 

 

JHISN Newsletter 11/22/2025

Posted on November 22, 2025 by - News, Newsletter

Dear friends, 

It is now a fact. Zohran Mamdani won the NYC mayoral election—by an enthusiastic margin. He will be sworn in on January 1, 2026, as the immigrant mayor of this city built on immigrant labor, dreams, and community. Our own Jackson Heights-based DRUM (Desis Rising Up & Moving) sibling organization, DRUM Beats, mobilized its South Asian and Indo-Caribbean membership to play a major role in Mamdani’s successful campaign. 

Given the threats this week from Thomas Homan, Trump’s so-called ’border czar,’ the most important part of today’s newsletter may be our WHAT CAN WE DO? section at the very end. We report first on ICE’s recent escalation of attacks here in Queens, and next, on your responses to our reader survey on how to prepare for ICE invasions in our own neighborhood. We conclude with actions you can take, and trainings and groups you can join, to collectively defend our communities. Please join us in learning what solidarity will look like in our immigrant-led New York City. 

Newsletter highlights:
  1. Our neighborhood faces escalating ICE raids
  2. Reportback on JHISN reader survey: Actions and suggestions to confront ICE

1. ICE Is Here–How Do We Respond?

It seemed inevitable. After a months-long brutal mass deportation campaign at the Federal Plaza courthouses in Manhattan, ICE has now started ramping up street raids in Queens, knowing that almost half of us (over one million residents) were born outside the US. 

In the first week of November, 97th Street and 41st Avenue in Corona became the main focus of a major ICE dragnet, resulting in the confirmed abductions of 12 neighbors. Other parts of Corona were also hit. As reported by Queens Neighborhoods United (QNU), these were not targeted arrests of individuals using judicial warrants. Instead, Latinos walking down the street, sitting in their cars, or riding bikes were racially profiled and arrested by swarms of agents. ICE used deception tactics—for instance, rotating out agents who might be recognized, or pretending to be done for the day, then suddenly returning to trap more residents. 

We note that ICE has been active in our community for some time. According to one well-informed activist, an average of two people a day were already being detained in the Jackson Heights, Corona, and Elmhurst area prior to the 97th St. raids. ICE has recently been sighted, banging on doors on 79th Street near Roosevelt Avenue at 5:00 AM, presumably trying to serve a warrant. However, QNU says, “ICE is escalating. They are using more elaborate ruses and traps. We must respond.”

Parts of the Corona assault were recorded on video, and some local residents tried to warn pedestrians using whistles. These efforts need to grow into a mass response by our whole community. We need well-organized ICE Watch and rapid response teams to monitor federal agents and keep our neighborhoods informed. We need a widespread whistle campaign so that every resident can take part in sounding an alert when ICE appears. We need enough people in the street to make it hard to trap anybody. 

This counter-escalation has started to emerge. We encourage our readers to be active according to your capabilities. Please see our What Can We Do? section at the end of our next article.

2. JHISN Reader Survey: Take Local Action Against ICE’s Illegal Activity

“[T]hey were here and they were everywhere. Smash and grab jobs happening across the city nearly simultaneously. But the things being stolen aren’t jewels, they’re lives. Off streets, from yards. One roofer plucked off a ladder. A landscaper thrown to the ground, tackled by a half-dozen men in camo with weapons …. What I need you to understand is that nobody is letting them go quietly. The Feds’ every movement is announced by a chorus of whistles, by a parade of cars honking in their wake, neighbors rushing outside to yell to film to witness these kidnappings that are unfolding in front of us. Neighbors running towards trouble.” – Dan Sinker, “What I Need You to Understand, Notes from Chicago in Late October”

In our last two newsletters, JHISN invited feedback from our readers through our NYC Prepares for ICE Invasion survey—we thank all of you who participated for your thoughtful responses. While most of you said you had already participated in actions to show opposition to the outrageous abductions by ICE agents, more than a third of you indicated that you are ready to take action for the first time. We applaud you and will continue to use the newsletter, as best we can, to encourage more people to take even more steps. We suggest that readers review the reports on grassroots resistance coming out of Chicago by Dan Sinker and Kyle Kingsbury, a.k.a “Aphyr”—they show what NYC could become when we face ICE attacks like those in Chicago. 

Our survey also asked about the challenges facing our readers and suggestions for what can be done next. Overwhelmingly, our respondents shared that their biggest challenge is not being aware of actions they can take, even as several readers reported on actions they have already done: 

  • Distribute Know Your Rights (KYR) information to businesses and people
  • Make phone calls and complete petitions to politicians 
  • Accompany immigrants to court appointments or participate in court watching
  • Donate to immigrant support organizations

The main challenges our readers reported were a fear of physical risks and that work hours and mobility issues associated with age prevent participation in actions. One person responded simply: “Fear”.

But for every challenge identified, survey respondents also offered two suggestions for future actions. Unawareness can be fixed through greater information sharing. One person suggested that we learn from other groups, such as DIRE (Deportation and Immigration Response Equipo) in New Jersey. Another suggested “Distribute whistles and publicize when/how to use them for rapid response. Like in Los Angeles and in Chicago, there has been a grassroots effort to distribute orange whistles that people can blow if they see ICE.” Another said, “Have a chat group | Patrol the neighborhood | Make noise to alert our neighbors.” 

JHISN has now posted instructions about whistle use as Community Resistance Tools on our blog, borrowing flyer information from South Brooklyn Mutual Aid. If you have been at the Jackson Heights Greenmarket on 34th Ave., between 79th & 80th, you may have seen activists distributing whistles and instructions to our community. Whistles played a role in the recent day-long ICE raid in Corona, and Hands Off NYC has now distributed well over 10,000 whistles throughout the city. Last weekend, JH Indivisible joined with 10 people from the neighborhood (including JHISN members) to distribute ICE Packs to business owners, including a whistle, instructions in English and Spanish for how to use the whistle, and red cards with KYR information. 

Some of our active readers have connected with local ICE Watch groups. Most of these local groups create their own direct messaging communication methods to the immigrant population they serve; only trusted sources, who have been able to verify that ICE action is underway, post to the ICE Watch lists. So, although the federal government demanded Apple and Google remove the ICEBlock app from their app stores, which they did, most local ICE Watch groups were not significant users of that app. 

One of our respondents made a straightforward comment: “I think we all have to help each other out in whatever ways we can.” Some of us can march in weekend events. Some of us can donate money to support immigrant-led groups or the many GoFundMe pages of families seeking support to fight their deportation case (please support the pages of those you know to be local to Jackson Heights).  Some of us can wear a polka dot dress and block an ICE Humvee to slow its progress. Some of us can take successful legal action against discriminatory practices that intimidate immigrants with the threat of deportation. Some of us can tell NYC assembly members to get ICE OUT! Some of us can get ICE barred from operating in Rikers. 

One of us cannot do everything, but many of us, doing what we can in different ways, can make the difference between quiet surrender or effective solidarity.

WHAT CAN WE DO? 
  • Get trained by Hands Off NYC, a coalition of over 50 action-taking groups, to learn Know Your Rights, ICE Watch, and organizing and mobilization strategies. Sign up for their Queens training on Saturday. Dec. 13, 12 – 4 pm.
  • Attend one of the New York Immigration Coalition’s many Neighborhood Defense Training webinars.
  • Attend the monthly Zoom meeting of Jackson Heights Indivisible and get involved with their local actions. 
  • Join the Visibility Brigade (also known as the Rush Hour Resistance) every Wednesday evening from 6 – 7 pm in Jackson Heights.
  • Notify activists if you see ICE: 
  • NYC ICE Watch – DM via Instagram @nycicewatch – use the SALUTE page to quickly format your post
  • Call the Immigrant Defense Project’s NY/NJ ​Rapid Response Network Emergency ICE Raid hotline at 1-800-308-0878, or in New York City,​ call 1-212-725-6422.
  • Prepare yourself, your neighbors, and others by being familiar with Make The Road New York’s Deportation Defense Manual—especially read Part Two: Rapid Response to Raids; appendix D; and appendix F. (Note this is from July 2022, and many things have changed since then).

In solidarity and with collective care,

Jackson Heights Immigrant Solidarity Network (JHISN)

 

Follow @JHSolidarity on Facebook and Twitter and share this newsletter with friends, families, neighbors, networks, and colleagues so they can subscribe and receive news from JHISN.