Senator Gianaris to Introduce Legislation Prohibiting Port Authority from Expending Any Resources Implementing Trump Travel Ban Executive Order

January 29, 2017

(Queens, NY) – Following President Donald’s Trump executive order to halt the admittance of all refugees and suspend immigration from seven countries to the United States, including green card holders, Senator Michael Gianaris announced legislation to prohibit the Port Authority, which administers New York's airports, from utilizing any of its resources in support of the Executive Order's enforcement.

“President Trump's executive order is as un-American as it gets and it falls upon each of us to take any measures at our disposal to resist by any legal means," said Senator Michael Gianaris, whose own parents came to the U.S. from Greece. "The State of New York should not spend one penny in support of this unconstitutional federal effort and I will fight to make sure we don't."

The legislation would prohibit the Port Authority from supporting the federal effort in any way, including through supporting personnel, the use of airport facilities under its control or the provision of electricity and climate control in areas of the airport being used for the detentions.