Legislation

§ 996-a. Restriction on use of municipal government resources for
immigration enforcement. 1. No municipal government employee shall use
the resources of such municipal government including, but not limited
to, time spent while on duty or any property or facilities owned or
operated by or under the control of the municipal government for
immigration enforcement purposes.

2. No municipal government employee shall disclose to an immigration
authority or any employee thereof an individual's personally
identifiable information, including, but not limited to, such person's
name, social security number, physical description, any associated
addresses, telephone number, financial information, medical information,
or place of employment or education except as provided in subdivision
nine of this section or unless necessary to administer a public program
or benefit sought by such person; or when registering an individual to
vote and other election related matters.

3. No municipal government employee shall question, investigate, or
interrogate an individual solely on the basis of an immigration
detainer, a civil immigration warrant, or for the sole purpose of
immigration enforcement.

4. No municipal government employee shall inquire about a person's
citizenship, immigration status, nationality, or country of origin,
except as provided in subdivision nine of this section; or as necessary
to administer a public program or benefit sought by such person or when
registering an individual to vote and other election related matters.

5. No municipal government employee shall collect information about a
person's citizenship, immigration status, nationality, or country of
origin, except as provided in subdivision nine of this section; or as
necessary to administer a public program or benefit sought by such
person.

6. (a) (i) No municipal government employee shall grant permission to
access or facilitate access to non-public areas of property or
facilities owned or operated by or under the control of such municipal
government to an immigration authority or any employee thereof engaging
in immigration enforcement except as provided in subdivision nine of
this section.

(ii) Provided, however, that no municipal government or municipal
government employee shall grant permission to access or facilitate
access to a polling location to an immigration authority or any employee
thereof engaging in immigration enforcement where doing so would violate
18 §§ U.S.C. 592, 595, 52 U.S.C. § 10307(b), the Fourteenth Amendment of
the United States Constitution, or the Fifteenth Amendment of the United
States Constitution, except as provided in subdivision nine of this
section.

(b) Each municipal government shall implement policies and/or
procedures for all relevant employees in the event that a judicial
warrant or court order is presented for access to non-public areas,
including the protocol to verify the sufficiency of any judicial warrant
or court order to ensure such judicial warrant or court order complies
with the provisions of this section for permitting access to any
non-public areas. Such policies and/or procedures shall include a
designated contact for such inquiries. Nothing in this paragraph shall
abrogate or otherwise change any legal privileges, including, but not
limited to, the attorney client privilege, that may apply to such
inquiries.

7. No municipal government employee shall use an immigration authority
or any employee thereof as an interpreter or a translator for law
enforcement matters relating to individuals that such government or
employees interact with as part of their employment duties.

8. The provisions of this section shall not be construed to prohibit
or restrict municipal governments or municipal governments employees
from sending to or receiving from the United States department of
homeland security or any other federal, state, or local governmental
entity information regarding the citizenship or immigration status of an
individual pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1373.

9. The provisions of this article shall not prohibit municipal
governments or municipal government employees from complying with court
orders issued by a judge appointed pursuant to Article III of the United
States Constitution or a federal magistrate judge appointed pursuant to
28 U.S.C. § 631, or judicial warrants issued by a judge appointed
pursuant to Article III of the United States Constitution or federal
magistrate judge appointed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 631, or as otherwise
required by law.

10. The provisions of this article shall apply notwithstanding any
other provisions of state or local law, charter, code, ordinance,
resolution, rule, or regulation to the contrary and shall not be
construed to in any way expand the authority of municipal government
employees to participate in immigration enforcement. Provided, however,
that nothing in this article shall be construed to prevent or restrict a
municipal government from adopting, enacting, or enforcing local
policies, laws, resolutions, ordinances, or regulations which comply
with at least the applicable standards or requirements of this article,
or which exceed the provisions of this article, or which further
restrict municipal governments or municipal government employees from
participation in immigration enforcement beyond the requirements set
forth in the chapter of the laws of two thousand twenty-six that added
this article.

11. For any databases operated by a municipal government including
databases maintained for a municipal government by private vendors, the
attorney general shall, by the first of January next succeeding the
effective date of this section, in consultation with appropriate
stakeholders, publish guidance and training recommendations aimed at
ensuring that such databases are governed in a manner that limits the
availability of information contained therein, to the fullest extent
practicable and consistent with federal and state law including, but not
limited to, 8 U.S.C. § 1373, to anyone or any entity for the purpose of
immigration enforcement. All municipal governments may adopt necessary
changes to database governance policies consistent with such guidance.