ALBANY, NY – New York State Senators Michelle Hinchey (D–Hudson Valley), Patricia Fahy (D–Albany), and Assemblymember Gabriella Romero (D, WFP–Albany) were joined by nearly fifty New York State legislators and more than 500 lawmakers nationwide today in signing a national statement, calling for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol agents to withdraw from Minnesota, demanding an independent investigation into the killings of Alex Pretti, Renee Nicole Good, and others killed by ICE/DHS, and an end to Congressional funding for ICE.

Excerpts from the statement include:

• “We, the undersigned state legislators from across this country, contend we are at a decisive moment in our nation’s history. For a nation founded 250 years ago on the basic and fundamental principles of freedom, liberty, and inalienable rights, having armed masked federal agents on our streets engaging in a campaign of wanton destruction threatens to destroy these foundational values that underpin our democracy.”
• “We stand with the people of Minnesota and demand that ICE and Border Patrol leave Minnesota immediately.”
• “We demand a full and independent investigation into both shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.”
• “Further, we demand the restoration of our American values and principles to our federal government, an end to the abductions and killings, an end to the occupation of our towns and cities, and an end to Congressional funding for ICE.”
   

State legislators from a total of 48 states joined New York State lawmakers in signing the statement, including Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and Washington, D.C.

Legislators noted, “We are stepping into extraordinarily dangerous territory in this country and have reached an unimaginable point where ICE and Border Patrol agents have now, twice within one month, killed US citizens on camera while the federal government tells us not to believe our own eyes.”

Finally, legislators addressed a growing and troubling trend: the violation of basic rights guaranteed to every person on U.S. soil, including the Fifth, Fourth, and other Amendments, and the mass arrests of immigrants who have no criminal history, saying: “the vast majority of ICE arrests in our cities and suburbs are of those with no criminal record, while due process and search and seizure rights guaranteed by our constitution are not just being violated daily: chillingly, these violations are officially sanctioned by leaked Department of Homeland Security memos.”

The final joint statement can be found here.

Senator Michelle Hinchey (D–Hudson Valley) said, “American citizens are being murdered by Government agents on the street for exercising their constitutional rights and defending their neighbors. This is not about immigration. It’s not about public safety. It’s about complete and utter control through violence and intimidation to distract us from the abject corruption of the Trump administration. That is authoritarianism. Congress must stop funding ICE operations and impeach Kristi Noem. I’m proud to stand with nearly 500 state legislators from around the country united in our support for the people of Minnesota. Most of all, I’m proud to stand with my fellow Americans against this fascist regime masquerading as an American presidency.”

“We must not let Alex Pretti, Renee Nicole Good, and the others we’ve lost die in vain,” said Senator Patricia Fahy (D–Albany). “This statement marks a decisive moment in our nation’s history, one where state legislators from across the country have come together in less than three days to say this is not normal, and the American people should not accept extra-judicial style killings in our streets by masked agents as normal. We stand with the people of Minnesota and all communities under attack amid this reign of terror, and we stand for the rule of law, the freedoms the Constitution guarantees to every person on our soil.”

“What we are seeing in Minneapolis and across the country is not public safety. It is dangerous, fascist overreach of the federal government to strike fear in the people of our country and to brew chaos in our streets,” said Assemblymember Gabriella A. Romero (D, WFP-Albany, Guilderland, New Scotland). “The loss of Alex Pretti, Renee Nicole Good, Keith Porter and others who were murdered in cold blood by ICE is felt deeply amongst all of us. We will not stand for this state-sanctioned violence and flagrant violation of people’s constitutional rights. I thank my colleagues in the New York State legislature and the 500+ legislators across nearly all 50 states for speaking out with us against ICE’s terrorization of our communities. We stand in solidarity with Minnesota, and demand that ICE is defunded, investigated, and removed from the streets of Minnesota immediately.”

###