Local and statewide immigration assistance groups are working with state politicians to establish barriers around U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement.
Legislation being discussed at the state level would prevent police agencies and other state employees from asking questions regarding immigration status, or from collaborating with ICE.
The legislation is a must to protect the rights of immigrants in the community, said Mike Hogan, a member of International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council Four.
“If New York State does not act swiftly and enact the New York for All Act, they will be partly responsible for these crimes," he said. "But besides being legally liable, even worse, they’ll be accomplices in unconscionable acts of inhumanity.”
There have been attempts to pass similar bills in recent years, but those have failed to garner enough support. Immigration law is usually a civil matter, but Republican State Senator Pat Gallivan believes the prospect of a state law that prevents federal cooperation would be an issue.
"I just don't think that that's appropriate. We have laws or we don't," he said. "We have a set of immigration laws. A number of people have violated those laws. They're in the country illegally, and I don't think it's ever okay that they're in here illegally."
Gallivan said he sees a place for refugees and asylum seekers in the community but says immigrants who enter illegally are still a concern.
"A refugee has legal stance in the United States," he said. "So if ... the law enforcement officer ran across them and the normal course of their duties, they would be able to demonstrate that they're here in a lawful manner, right?
But Western New York Council on Occupational Safety and Health Director Brian Cashdollar says the current frenzy around immigration crackdowns is a far cry from when he was a labor investigator in the 1990s.
“The New York State, Department of Labor, as a matter of policy, did not collect nor share information on immigration status," he said. "The reasoning was to ensure that all workers felt safe filing complaints and cooperating with D.O.L. to ensure New York employers were complying with the law.”
Arrests by ICE have skyrocketed under President Donald Trump, with his administration recently setting a target of 3,000 people per day.