"Populist" James Skoufis & Other Democrats Fails to Protect Immigrant Families. Again.

"Populist" James Skoufis & Other Democrats Fails to Protect Immigrant Families. Again.

Below is a transcript of this week’s podcast. It has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity. BJ Mendelson, Host of The Monroe Gazette podcast: Hello everyone, it’s BJ Mendelson. Welcome to another edition of the The Monroe Gazette podcast. We’re still on break, technically, until I finish my book, How to Protect Yourself from Fascists and Weirdos. I should be done next week, I hope, which we originally said was the 15th, when we’re gonna be coming back from our break. I’m gonna try very hard to meet that deadline. If I don’t, I will let you know. We will definitely be done with the book this month. If you would like free copy a free .PDF and a free .mp3 All you have to do is visit stupidsexyprivacy.com [https://www.stupidsexyprivacy.com] that’s our sister website to the Monroe Gazette. Subscribe to that newsletter and as soon as the finished PDF and mp3 are ready we’ll make sure you get a copy. Before we get into today’s interview, I just wanted to touch on something real quick. New York Focus [https://www.nyfocus.com] is a great local news resource here in New York. They cover state news and they do a pretty good job of catching stories that otherwise would fall through the cracks. So I’m a big fan of New York Focus. It’s worth a donation. But man, that doesn’t mean it’s above criticism. So, something bad did happen over in New York focus this week. They published what is essentially a puff piece on state senator Skoufis [https://nysfocus.com/2026/05/04/james-skoufis-hudson-valley-new-york-populist-democrat]. The headline is so nauseating it says The Young Populist Trying to Redefine the New York Democratic Party — and We Don’t Mean Mamdani. Like, listen … I’ve worked in PR and marketing, so I can spot these puff pieces from a mile away, because that’s what I’ve done for the last 20 years. I can’t say conclusively that The Parkside Group, which is what Mr. Skoufis has used to prop up the candidacy of a far right MAGA weirdo in Woodbury [https://www.monroegazette.com/p/woodbury-man-cant-keep-dick-out-of], which wasn’t too long ago, and also used it to plant voicemails to attack and otherwise defame the (now current) Monroe town supervisor. [https://www.monroegazette.com/p/real-estate-developers-lose-in-monroe] I don’t doubt that someone from The Parkside group wrote to New York Focus with a puff piece and basically laid out everything for them and was like, “hey, Senator Skoufis is up for reelection. Look how cool he is and look at this. Look how successful he is in this red district.” And I just want to fact check this because number one, Democrats outnumber Republicans in Orange County two to one [https://www.monroegazette.com/p/election-results-dead-heat-in-woodbury]. It is not a red district. It is not redder than almost any other place in New York. And I can say that because I have lived all over New York. Like if you want to visit MAGA LAND go to the North Country, you will see a red district. And that’s true also, like I’ve lived down in Buffalo and the second you leave Erie County and you’re in a place like Wyoming County, where there’s more cows and people. Yeah, it’s MAGA LAND! And I’m not, you know, that’s not an attack on those counties. It’s just me pointing out. Factually that it’s very misleading to portray Orange County as MAGA LAND and that Skoufis is some kind of bastion against the bulwark of MAGA because he’s not. The only reason why this man has any sort of political career is because of corporate donors. If you go and look at his finances, you can see that he’s raised over $6 million. The other reason that he’s done as well as he has is because there is a large group of people who do come out and vote for him consistently, who are atypical when we look at the rest of New York state. If you look at the rest of New York state, we’re unique in Orange County in that we do have a large population of Satmar voters. Many of whom, not all, and I want to underline the words, not all, tend to vote based on what Anash tells them, which is the majority party in Kiryas Joel, for example, or what the criminals in South Blooming Grove, Joel Stern and Isaac Ekstein tell people. So to portray this man, Skoufis, as being some kind of like progressive agent or a populist agent who’s changing the Democratic Party and challenging the establishment in New York? No, that man is the establishment. This is a man who’s told people, I support New York for all, and then came out just recently against it [https://www.monroegazette.com/p/cowardly-hochul-skoufis-other-dems]. This is a man who, despite the fact that 1.2 million people in New York state are going to lose their health insurance by the end of this year. Skoufis is the man who said, I don’t want to vote for the New York Health Act because it’s too expensive. [https://www.monroegazette.com/p/heres-how-the-maga-murder-bill-will] This is not a populist. So I recommend New York Focus. I do think you should check it out. But I saw that and I was just really disappointed. And I needed to tell someone how disappointed I was. This article did not pass the smell test. This looks like a PR puff piece. And I wanted you to know about it because you’re gonna hear in this discussion in today’s episode about how Skoufis has actively worked against the rights of immigrant communities that live here in New York State and immigrant families. That is not a populist. That is a con artist. The Monroe Gazette is brought to you commercial free; and with no pay-wall to access over two years of our coverage of issues in Orange County and beyond. If you would like to help keep the lights on, we’re looking to recruit 500 new, paid annual subscribers between now and December 31st. All you have to do is hit the button below. Paid subscribers get access to occasional bonus content, podcast audio, our behind the scenes Facebook group, and the ability to comment on posts just like this one. BJ Mendelson, Host of The Monroe Gazette podcast: Hi Rosa, thank you so much for joining us today. Would you like to take a moment to introduce yourself to our audience? Rosa Cohen-Cruz, Director of Immigration Policy with the Bronx Defenders: Sure, my name is Rosa Cohen Cruz. I’m the Director of Immigration Policy with the Bronx Defenders. BJ Mendelson: And can you tell us a little bit about what the Bronx Defenders does? Rosa Cohen-Cruz: Yeah, the Bronx Defenders [https://www.bronxdefenders.org/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20866594769&gbraid=0AAAAADKSCn7jUdLJLrTYMZ71o5qQ_sVfh&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIiv-dksiqlAMVxTQIBR0pvzHaEAAYASAAEgJXoPD_BwE] is a large public defender not-for-profit that represents people in criminal court, in family court, in immigration court, housing court, and is really one of the organizations that pioneered this model of holistic defense. Were we’re making sure that we’re representing people and providing services for all aspects of the people we serve, not just like one niche legal area. BJ: And have you had any any people that you represent that have been sent to Orange County Jail for one reason or another? Rosa: Yeah, so we are NYIFUP providers, which is the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project. [https://open.substack.com/pub/monroegazette/p/inside-orange-county-jail-ice-detainee?r=2ym8&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web] Brooklyn Defender Services, Bronx Defender Services and Legal Aid together have been providing universal representation to people in New York who are detained while facing their deportation cases. And we have many, many clients who are at Orange County jail; and over the years have represented many people detained at the Orange County jail. BJ: Is there any particular issues that stand out or instances that come to mind involving the jail that you think people should know about? Rosa: Yeah, the Orange County jail is sort of notoriously one of the worst detention centers that we have had. Where we have had clients. a couple of years ago, there was a reporter that looked at complaints of, harassment by guards and medical issues and various things across all detention centers across the nation. And he sort of picked out some of the worst ones and Orange County Jail was one of the ones that he picked out as, you know, being particularly bad for medical neglect and abuse by guards. And so, I think that has definitely been the experience of the people we’ve represented. We’ve seen people go in healthy and come out with long term chronic illnesses that really developed because of their mistreatment at the facility. I’m sure you’re well aware that there was recently a report done by NYLPI about the medical neglect at the jail. [https://www.monroegazette.com/p/do-you-want-to-help-kick-ice-out] And it has really been a place where we have seen people suffer and deteriorate. We’ve seen mental health, decompensation. We’ve seen people with strong claims for relief from their removal cases give up because of how horrific the conditions in the facility have been. BJ: It’s crazy to hear about because if you watch the legislative meetings for Orange County, we spend a lot of money on that jail. And my impression is that that money is not making its way towards better treatment for the people that are detained there. Is that right? Rosa: I don’t know the ins and outs of how the legislature spends its money, but I can certainly say that whatever financial decisions they’re making, it is not translating into people being well cared for at the facility. People have been suffering there for years. In the summer, we hear complaints about it being extremely hot in the facility. In the winter, we hear complaints about it being extremely cold, about people not being able to access enough blankets or ways to stay warm. We hear about medical neglect. We hear about the food being rotten. That’s been something that’s been shared for years and years. We hear about guards verbally abusing the people who are in detention there. Bronx Defenders was as part of a lawsuit against Orange County Jail for for transferring people in retaliation for hunger strikes several years ago. And those people had been protesting the conditions in the facility. So we have years and years and years of evidence of just how harmful this facility in particular has been, how much pain and damage it has caused to our fellow New Yorkers who have been forced to be caged there. BJ: I couldn’t help but notice that much of these complaints seem to correlate with the emergence of County Executive Steve Neuhaus at the helm of Orange County. The hunger strike goes back to the time where he took over or just after he took over as County Executive. Has anyone tried to bring these issues and concerns to the County Executive Neuhaus Rosa: Well, the Dignity Not Detention Coalition has been engaged, which the Bronx Defenders is part of, we have been engaging more with him and more with the legislature this year. There have been different points where we had tried to engage with various success, but this year we’ve had, I think we’ve had more success. Of course, this is the year that the state is also finally taking notice of just how horrific things have been this whole time. And I think recognizing that it is morally reprehensible to accept money from ICE to allow them to be caging our neighbors and destroying our communities this way. We’re happy to see that the governor’s, that the proposal, the budget proposal for immigration this year includes ending the IGSA intergovernmental service agreements between local jails and ICE. BJ: You beat me to it. Rosa: (Laughs) BJ: So I was going to mention first, the Dignity Not Detention Coalition before we get to the other stuff. But just tell us a little bit about the coalition and how it came about and what it’s fighting for? Rosa: Yeah the Dignity and Not Detention Coalition has been around for many years. it has always been around to end ice detention, first in New Jersey, then in New York, really for the places where New Yorkers have largely been held. A similar bill to Dignity not Detention, the banning of these intergovernmental service agreements did pass in New Jersey. Those jails all ended their contracts. There used to be three jails in New Jersey that had these types of programs. And now after that, win, we turned the focus to New York state and felt that New York state was really behind having not passed these laws when other states like New Jersey and Illinois had successfully banned the IGSA agreements. In fact, earlier this year, New Mexico even beat New York to this. So, you know, New York is not actually a leader on this issue at all. But the coalition has been really incredible. It is a mix of advocates through not-for-profits, attorneys who represent people in removal proceedings. There are many, many, many volunteers through Indivisible and For the Many, the DSA, and SURJ NYC who are just part of this coalition because they believe in the mission of ending ICE detention here. There are incredible legal service providers that are part of the group and it is a statewide group as well. So you have people from Orange County who have become involved. You have people from Long Island. You have people from Western New York and New York City all working together towards this goal. So the Bronx Defenders has been one of the core members of the group as have Envision Freedom Fund, BAJI, Center for Constitutional Rights, Critical Resistance, Columbia County Sanctuary Movement. I mean, so many, so many groups, I could just keep going, but it’s been a really incredible coalition. And the one other thing I’ll say about it that I think is so unique is that we’ve always worked really closely with folks who are in the facilities, and really being led by folks on the inside to make sure that we’re listening to them and supporting them. So there’s a whole group that works on being connected to folks who are behind bars in immigrant detention and making sure that they have what they need to be able to sort of be in the movement as well. BJ: Now let me ask you a little bit about the bill itself. So we’re recording this on Friday, May 8th. There seems to be maybe a budget agreement. There’s some dispute as to whether or not there is. My understanding is that the Melt Act is essentially going to be incorporated. So there’s not going to be masks allowed for ICE. You mentioned detentions on behalf of ICE at places like OCJ also would be canceled out. But is there any part of dignity not detention that has so far made its way into the budget that was announced? Rosa: So the core of Dignity not Detention has always been ending the intergovernmental service agreements, the ICE contracts with local jails for detention purposes, because ICE has always relied on local jails to expand attention. And we’ve always believed that New York resources should be for New Yorkers and not for furthering ICE’s mission. That piece of the bill, the ending the IGSA agreements, that has been the core of Dignity Not Detention and that is as far as we understand in the budget. So that’s very exciting and that’s a huge, huge testament to Assemblymember Reyes and Senator Salazar who are the Dignity Not Detention sponsors who have really worked tirelessly to make sure that this stayed a priority in the budget this year. And alongside that, there are some other provisions around making sure New York is not a prime area to expand ICE detention in other ways. Thinking of the warehouse issue [https://www.monroegazette.com/p/trump-billionaire-plans-possible], for example. so I think that I have not seen language, but my understanding is that what is in the budget approaches some of the same issues that are approached in the Dignity Not Detention legislation. But through slightly different avenues. In our view, as long as it accomplishes the same goals of not allowing ICE detention to expand in our state, we see it as a huge win. And we very much welcome the Dignity Not Detention provisions and goals to be accomplished this way in the budget. BJ: You mentioned two great members of the Senate and assembly. As you might be familiar, Orange County sort of has the opposite problem, right? Where we have state Senator Skoufis who told people he was for New York for All before he came out against it recently. We have Paula Kay who is for New York for all but doesn’t want her name on it. And then of course we have Brabenec and Maher who, as Republicans, don’t really want to participate in much of anything. So what has that been like with when you encounter resistance among Democrats in New York State government? Like is there something that you would tell people in Orange County that are listening to this and kind of frustrated at the situation Rosa: I have been very impressed by some of the local legislators in Orange County. I’ll start there and say that there are local legislators who have really listened and taken this very seriously and who I think really came to see what a huge stain it is on the county to have been participating in torturing New Yorkers like this for years and years. So I need to give them credit. But it is true that there are many, and especially at the state level, who don’t understand or don’t care that it is morally reprehensible to allow our state resources to be used to cause the death of our neighbors. There was a death in Long Island in the Nassau County Jail [https://nypost.com/2025/09/19/us-news/ice-detainee-found-dead-in-nassau-county-jail-cell-sparking-ny-state-investigation/]because of someone who is picked up pursuant to a 287-G agreement. So we saw right there the way ICE collusion literally led to the death of a New Yorker and no one did anything about it. Governor Hochul has continued to come out and say, a tragedy, and it is a true tragedy what happened to Mr. Alam out in Erie County, [https://www.wivb.com/news/crime/death-of-burmese-refugee-ruled-medical-complications-homicide/] yet none of the things she has proposed would have even come close to protecting him. And I think that people should really scrutinize legislators who say they care about immigrants, but are unwilling to pass measures that would have, you know, could save lives. There’s no reason for us to be using our enforcement resources to funnel people into ICE detention, where we know people are tortured and killed. Yet the legislature and the governor are, we’re only able to end the detention side of things. But we’re unwilling to really meaningfully address the collusion that funnels people in the first place, which is where New York for All Act would have played a really critical role. So, I just urge listeners to hold their legislators accountable to the ones that didn’t stand up for immigrants. Truly, this session, they should know that they failed to meet the moment. BJ: To me, it also represents a failure to just uphold the Constitution. You know, the 14th Amendment guarantees that all people, regardless of citizenship, are treated equally under the law. And to me, Skoufis in particular, Kay, Eachus … And to me, it’s just a failure to just uphold the Constitution as well. Because as we know with Alex Pretti and Renee Good, these actions tend to bring in people who you might not think are being targeted, but it affects all of us. This is something that affects all of us no matter the issue. And so to that point, I know it’s a little tricky because the again, we don’t know what the final thing is going to look like at the time we’re recording this, but what comes next? So let’s say...Dignity Not Detention and MELT for the most part are in, New York for all is kinda out. So what does the coalition do next? Rosa: Well, the Dignity Not Detention Coalition has always been really supportive of New York for All. And we had a rally in Albany a couple of weeks ago where we stood with them, knowing that it was likely that our goals were going to be accomplished. Many of us are … I sit on a steering committee [concerning] New York for All, and I’m also very involved in Dignity Not Detention. And there’s many of us that are in both spaces as well. So I think that it is extremely likely that we continue to see the support of those who are in the Dignity Not Detention Coalition continuing to push for New York for All. I know that we’re going to continue pushing for New York for All because it is truly what is needed to meet the moment. It’s good that we are divesting from ICE detention. It is good that we are saying New York’s resources are not going to be furthering ICE detention, but … We can’t do that with one hand while also continuing to funnel our neighbors and community members into ICE detention with the other. So New York for All is sorely needed. And it’s no coincidence that Assemblymember Reyes was the sponsor of both of those bills. Those bills have always been companion bills and we always wanted them to get done together. So we’ll definitely keep pushing for a New York for All and for the full comprehensive divestment from collusion with ICE that the state really should be standing for in this moment. BJ: I think it’s fair to say that the people listening to this podcast already kind of know the score with Skoufis Eachus Brabenec Maher and Kay. But What can we do as residents of Orange County? Both on the Dignity Not Detention front, but also just in terms of assisting the coalition towards the greater effort of New York for All. Rosa: There was a rumor, or not a rumor, a talking point that was sort of spread around. And I certainly heard Senator Skoufis say this, and I’m sure others did too, that New York for all was just a New York City issue and that immigrants really just live in New York City. So why should we be passing this statewide bill when New York City always has protections? So I think it is really critically important for places like Orange County, to be speaking loudly in favor of this. To be talking about their neighbors and community members who need New York for all to pass. We’ve seen extreme harm happening in places like Port Chester, New York, which doesn’t even have a 287-G agreement, or Erie County, or across the state. Immigrants living in all of these counties, all of these communities who are afraid to go to work and go to take their children to school and to engage with the public life because of fear that it will lead to an interaction that will cause them to be funneled into ICE detention. And I think it is more important than ever for lawmakers to hear from folks in Orange County and from folks across the state that we all want this, that this is a statewide issue that the majority, the Democrats really want and that it will, that it is we are truly being represented by our elected officials, then they need to be heeding the call of what people in New York are asking for. And right now, New York for All has been loudly called for, but elected officials are not going to deliver this session. BJ: I I asked Senator Gournardes this a couple of weeks ago on the podcast, [https://www.monroegazette.com/p/this-could-be-your-last-shot-at-getting]where I said, you know, January 7th, you were all back in session. New York State has a democratic trifecta. So why wasn’t New York for all it passed? Why wasn’t dignity and non-detention passed on day one? And the truth of the matter is that New York State Democrats, some of them anyway, are more interested in representing the wealthy than the rest of us. So to that point, is there anything on this topic I didn’t get to, that you would like to bring up or share with your audience? Rosa: You know, I think some people are going to say about the ending of the IGSA agreements in particular, I think some people are going to say, well, it’s better to have people in New York than to have them in these other places. And we’ve already heard that. That we shouldn’t be ending ICE contracts here for that reason. I wanna make sure people know the reality of what is happening right now. The first and most important thing is that everyone is being transferred all the time. Like the fact that we have detention centers in New York does not mean people stay in New York. And in fact, what we’ve seen happen, we’ve seen patterns where the Orange County Jail will be emptied out so they can do mass raids in New York City, or so they can do mass arrests across the state. So. A huge part of eliminating local detention capacity has always been connected to making sure that they don’t have the ability to do this massive enforcement and just put everybody into facilities in New York. So we do think that there’s an important correlation between detention availability and enforcement aggression. And we hope that this bill really, that the IGSA ban coming into effect will really help limit enforcement. Of course, we also need to see the New York for All Act passed to fully realize that goal. BJ: Before you go, tell us, where do we find you? Where do we find the coalition? How can we get involved? Rosa: We do have an Instagram in on the coalition where there will be updates. I think as everything comes out, you know, there’s going to be a lot of guidance about what it all means and what to expect. The Instagram is @Abolish ICE NY-NJ [https://www.instagram.com/abolishice_nynj/]. Please do follow us. We also have a New York for all Instagram, which is @ny4all_ [https://www.instagram.com/ny4all_/]. and that’s where there will be campaign updates and calls to action. But I also want to just take one moment and say thank you to the folks in Orange County. You guys have really stood with us this year with the Dignity Not Detention Coalition in particular. I know, you know, we did a rally together last month and, you know, we stood side by side fighting against the warehouses and we’ve been really, it has been really wonderful to be working so closely with folks on the ground fighting in their own communities. So I just wanted to also express gratitude to those of you on the ground showing up every day to protest what’s happening. And that’s how we’re gonna make this kind of change. So thank you. Thanks for reading The Monroe Gazette! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.monroegazette.com/subscribe [https://www.monroegazette.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Cowardly Hochul, Skoufis, Other Dems Try to Abandon Immigrant Families

Pictured Above: A flyer for an event put on by a new local community group, Hudson Valley Caracoles. We’d like to encourage you to attend. Below, Little Dick Energy State Senator Skoufis tries to weasel out of supporting a bill he told numerous Orange County constituents that he supported. He’s not the only Democrat to do so, as you’ll see in today’s post. This man has no reproductive organs to speak of. Yasmine Farhang, whom we spoke to in this podcast interview below, commented on the State Senator’s response, sharing with us: Senator Skouffis’s attempt to rationalize his opposition to New York for All false flat. His rhetoric seeks to demonize New Yorkers by fear-mongering and mis-leading his constituents. He fails to recognize the beliefs that so many New Yorkers hold close - that the importance of keeping families and communities together is bound up with the importance of upholding due process for all. For years, ICE entanglement with state and local agencies has enabled the cruel separation of family members across our state - this includes many people who face disproportionate policing, as well as those who are convicted of crimes and serve prison sentences only to then face a cruel double punishment when funneled to ICE detention and deportation. The bottom line - New York resources must not be used to fuel a federal mass deportation agenda, especially when sending people to ICE is increasingly deadly. I reject Senator Skouffi’s attempt to divide us and we will continue to stand united in calling for New York for All. The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity. There may be errors as it was generated by an AI and read over by BJ, who usually misses a ton of typos on the first read through. BJ Mendelson, Editor of The Monroe Gazette: Hello everyone, welcome to another edition of The Monroe Gazette podcast. I’m your host, BJ Mendelson. We have two interviews to bring to you today. Both are related to New York for All and some of the activity going on in our community to promote bills such as New York for All and Dignity Not Detention I just wanted to say something real quick. So I am working on finishing my book, How to Protect Yourself from Fascists and Weirdos [https://www.stupidsexyprivacy.com]. It was supposed to be out in February. We basically went and ripped up the whole thing after Alex Pretti was murdered. I thought about doing it after Renee Good was killed, then when Alex Pretti was murdered, we got pushed over the threshold of … You know, needing to redo the entire book. So we rewrote it. We rewrote the entire thing. So it’ll be out. It looks like the end of May. I need to do a lot of stuff to get it ready. This is all a long way of saying that May is probably going to be a quiet month on the Monroe Gazette, just so that I can get the book out. My expectation is that things will be fairly quiet until about May 15th. At that point, I will be done. And then other people will hopefully get involved and finish up the actual production of the book and then I can move on to other things. And then at that point, I’ve been thinking of doing some major changes to the The Monroe Gazette Originally we had two goals. And the first goal was get Tony Cardone out of office, which we succeed in doing [https://www.monroegazette.com/p/election-results-dead-heat-in-woodbury]. And then the other goal was to sort of document everything that’s happening in South Blooming Grove and try to bring Joel Stern and Isaac Eckstein to justice. So, I mean, we filed three lawsuits so far, and that’s not counting the federal one involving the stolen election [https://www.monroegazette.com/p/nobody-counts-in-south-blooming-grove]. And it doesn’t involve the one with like the 26 residents who are going to file suit to have the village actually audited, because there’s no way Thomas DiNapoli, in an election year, is ever going to release that South Blooming Grove audit. So we figured we were going to sue. My expectation is to focus on South Blooming Grove and then what’s going on over in Sullivan County with Kiryas Skever. I can’t cover everything. And so there’s, there’s a certain like Maginot Line. I don’t know how many of you know what the Maginot Line but like the Maginot Line was basically a barrier that the French created after World War I, where they thought that they would be able to keep the Germans out by building this big ass fortification, which of course did not work at all. It did not work. So I kind of look at [this situation] as crossing the Maginot Line. Crossing the threshold. And we’re definitely at the Maginot Line in terms of like the Monroe Gazette in terms of like its finances. I held on for as long as I could for about two years doing it at a loss. I can’t keep doing that. So in order for it to continue as a publication, it definitely needs to expand its scope a bit in terms of what it covers. So I’m kind of leaning towards just doing like this radical change of focusing again on South Blooming Grove, Kiryas Skever as opposed to sort of the local news. That doesn’t mean we won’t cover the local news. There’s certainly things that’ll come up that are important and that we’ll write about, but it’s just not something that I’m gonna spend so much time on. So I’m telling you this in advance. We’re gonna take a short break. We’ll be back on or around May 15th or probably after that when the book is done. And then after that, we’re gonna kind of…figure out what exactly the Monroe Gazette is going to be covering and what it’s not going to be covering because it just can’t, it can’t continue in the shape that it is. But for now we have two wonderful interviews that we’re going to share with you concerning New York For All. The reason why I went on this whole tangent is because something that really frustrates me is that people don’t want preferential treatment for the Haredi. But those same people don’t want the law to be applied to people that are here, quote unquote, illegally. Again, no one here in America is here illegally. Technically, we’re all here illegally. We’re living on stolen Indian land. That’s a whole other thing. But it doesn’t matter what we think. It doesn’t matter what you think. It doesn’t matter what I think, because what matters is what the Constitution thinks. And the Constitution thinks in the 14th Amendment that the law of the United States applies to everyone equally, regardless of whether or not they are a citizen. And so I kind of struggle with this thing of, you know, you don’t want preferential treatment for the Satmar which I understand, but at the same time, you’re saying the law shouldn’t count towards people that are here, quote unquote, illegally. So my thing, the reason why we talk as much as we do about New York for all, Dignity Not Detention, and some of these other things is because our philosophy at the Monroe Gazette is very simple: Everybody counts. Everybody. And that’s sort where we’re coming from in our coverage of South Blooming Grove plus Kiryas Skever plus things like New York for All. So I just want people to understand why we spend as much time talking about it as we do, because we think it’s important, because we think everyone counts. And with that said, let’s get right to those interviews. The Monroe Gazette is brought to you commercial free; and with no pay-wall to access over two years of our coverage of issues in Southern Orange County and beyond. If you would like to help keep the lights on, we’re looking to recruit 500 new, paid annual subscribers between now and December 31st. All you have to do is hit the button below. Paid subscribers get access to occasional bonus content, podcast audio, our behind the scenes Facebook group, and the ability to comment on posts just like this one. Interview #1 Yasmine Farhang Yasmine Farhang, Executive Director of the Immigrant Defense Project: My name is Yasmine Farhang and I’m the executive director of the Immigrant Defense Project [https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org/]. And for those who are not familiar with IDP, we have been around for almost 30 years and we fight for justice for immigrants who are impacted at the intersections of the immigration legal system and the criminal legal system. BJ: Can you give us an example of that? Because I try to explain to people that being here in a country, quote unquote, illegally is not actually a criminal offense. It’s a civil offense. Is that right? Yasmine: So IDP was born in the wake of the 1996 immigration laws, which passed Congress and were signed by former President Clinton, which were some of the most draconian immigration laws that kind of shaped the detention and deportation system that we have today. But what people might be less familiar with is that those laws also bound up the criminal legal and the immigration legal systems together to really try to use kind of the policing, the worst of kind of racist policing and the criminal injustice and the criminal legal system to also funnel people to ICE detention and deportation. So, at IDP, we have a really core principle and that principle is that everyone deserves dignity and nobody is disposable. And we know we also approach this work from a racial justice lens and we know that disproportionately black immigrants and immigrants of color are disproportionately impacted at the intersection of those systems. And so, you know, that has been our mission for the last 30 years. And of course, the systems that were built back then are being supercharged now. BJ: Previously we had Senator Andrew Gounardes is the co-sponsor of New York for All. He’s walked us through what the bill does and what it doesn’t do. [https://www.monroegazette.com/p/this-could-be-your-last-shot-at-getting] I’d to hear your perspective on New York for All, why it’s important and what it does. Yasmine: Absolutely. So New York for All, it really is there in the name. it’s really about ensuring that all New Yorkers all around our state, no matter what county they’re living in, no matter what their immigration status are, can rely on the ability to participate in their communities and all the daily ways that immigrants do right through their families, through their workplaces, through their places of worship, through, you know, any other number of things without having to worry that local and or state resources are going to be used or the local and state agencies that they interact with every day, like local law enforcement, like shelters, like hospitals and schools, that those agencies are going to be used to funnel their information to ICE and that those agencies are going to be, putting them at risk of ICE detention and deportation. And this isn’t actually a novel idea. The idea of having these kind of broad prohibitions on local and state resources being used for a federal deportation agenda is not new. And in fact, the first Trump administration, many other states around the country passed legislation to do just that because one of the few things that states can do in the face of a deportation agenda as a mass deportation agenda as we have today, is to actually say, we’re not participating, right? We’re not going to be part of this harm. So the first Trump administration, we saw Illinois and Washington and Oregon and California pass these laws and we had this bill in New York back then and yet it never got over the finish line. And so here we are all these years later under a second Trump administration with obviously a more increasingly harmful and deadly and authoritarian reign every day. And yet this bill has still not passed. BJ: Right. Yeah. It’s outrageous to me. I asked Senator Gounardes why on January 7th when we have a democratic trifecta and everyone was back to work in New York State government, why wasn’t this passed on day one? It’s deeply frustrating and speaking of frustrating I wanted to read to you I was forwarded an email from the Monroe Town Supervisor Maureen RIchardson. There was a group of residents who have been pushing for a ceremonial resolution that the town would pass in support of New York for All because our state representative Senator Skoufis does not support New York for all. He says he does, but then we’ve also gotten reports from people where he’s alleged to actively try to undermine it so … We were trying to get like these ceremonial resolutions passed to kind of push Skoufis and the rest of New York State Democrats to support the bill because in Monroe, you know, we have about 40% of our population is Latino and we have a significant undocumented population that’s been terrorized by ICE since at least this summer. I’m just gonna read these to you real quick. So this is from the town supervisor in Monroe, Maureen Richardson, writing to a constituent. She said: “I have since looked into New York for All and I don’t support the bill. It does not appropriately address the issues at hand.” (She doesn’t say what the issues are) “… and limits the functionality of local police in any even perceived quote collaboration with federal agencies on immigration issues. This has been criticized as overly restrictive and imputing daily functions even by allies with experience in PD. So no, thank you.” BJ: I was really disappointed to see that and to read that. And I’ve heard that same criticism of the bill come up. So I was hoping you might be able to speak to that. Yasmine: I think fundamentally we know that all New Yorkers want safety, right? And there’s this way in which safety is talked about in a way that suggests that safety is about some people against some other people, right? And we know that that’s not true. And we know that, the way that safety is defined and who it’s for is really, really important. And, the New York for All Act is in fact a bill that’s about creating more safety for all New Yorkers. So when people think about sanctuary policies, whether it’s at the local level or the state level, I think often they think about this as a sort of special policy for some people when in reality these policies are critical to everyone’s safety, right? So if somebody is experiencing, unsafe conditions in their home, unsafe conditions in their building where they live with other residents, we want that person to report those conditions. We want them to share what’s happening and to seek help and to seek oversight of what’s going on. If somebody is experiencing labor exploitation, We want them to be able to report that and to expose that and to be able to seek help from relevant local and state agencies. And similarly, if somebody is a survivor of violence. We want them to be able to avail themselves of whatever services or programs they might need for themselves or their families. But if people feel that they cannot reach out for help, they cannot share information, whether it’s for themselves, for their loved ones, or for that neighbor, that puts everybody at risk. That puts everybody at risk of a variety of harms. And what we know from the work that we have done to document some instances of local law enforcement, police around the state in particular, colluding with ICE over the course of the past year is that often what we’re seeing around New York state are really egregious and very clear instances of racial profiling, right, of police, local law enforcement stopping somebody we know from the work that we have done, instances of local law enforcement police around the state in particular commuting with ICE over the course of the past year is that often what we’re seeing around the world state are really egregious and really serious instances of racial profiling, right? As we believe in your philosophy of stopping ostensibly because they want to question them or they are investigating something. But, you know, the ultimate conclusion is that they are handing this person over to ICE and that was often very clearly their principal goal in the first place. So we see that with many instances of policing and actually if you go to our website of immigrantdefenseproject.org, [https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org/] there’s a tab under resources for what’s called the New York ICE Collusion Watch [https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org/new-york-ice-collusion-watch/]. We have a map there where we’re kind of focusing on the police to deportation pipeline by really exposing these patterns, right? And you know, whether it’s a phone call from a local police officer that brings in an ICE agent or state troopers pulling someone over or, county signing a formal 287-G agreement, we’re seeing all the ways in which this police to deportation pipeline unfortunately is very, very active in New York. I want to just tell one story to kind of illustrate the harms. and this is a perfect example. Also, I think people are aware that we have, you here in New York City, we do have some protective laws, right, around sanctuary that were passed over a decade ago. They need to be strengthened. But we do have those. And yet when you leave the confines of New York City, what, you know, the collusion with ICE changes drastically. And just north of the city in Port Chester, New York. In January, there was a story of a community member. He was headed to the train on his way home from work, and he was stopped by Port Chester police on the sidewalk. And they informed him that they were going to give him a ticket for having an open container violation. Instead of giving him a ticket, they put him in handcuffs. They took him to the precinct. They asked him whether he had papers. And then they put him in a cell. And shortly after ICE came and detained him, and he was transferred far from New York, and he was in ICE detention for for months. Later, that open container citation that he was told he was getting in the first place, that was actually dismissed, Much later, that was dismissed. And I think this is exactly an example of sort of the way in which policing tactics are really being used for purposes of ensuring that they can funnel someone to ICE custody. So I think it’s certainly not the sort of racial profiling and kind of arbitrary decisions by police officer without any kind of state regulations restricting them is very dangerous for New Yorkers around the country. And then for those in the criminal legal system who do have convictions, right? And who are for being a sentence or who are on probation or whatever it might be for them to then complete their sentence or complete their probation or whatever it might be. And then from there, be funneled to ICE detention is a really cruel form of double punishment for people who should be able to go back home to their families, go back to their communities. And the loss and the harm that it causes not just to the individual, but to their family members, is really awful. BJ: Absolutely. And the thing I want to point out to listeners is we’ve seen both sides of the policing coin here in Orange County. On one hand, the village of Monroe Police Department. I personally find them to be trustworthy and transparent on this issue. And they’ve repeatedly told both the Monroe Gazette and other media outlets and the public that ICE just appears like they don’t have any communication with them. They don’t even know when ICE is going to show up which is disturbing, like on a whole, like that’s a whole other set of issues, right? Where you just have this rogue agency appearing. But on the other side, we have Orange County, which does house ICE detainees, over 100 of them at Orange County Jail, who lacks any sort of transparency. Like right now, we are fighting with them over FOIL requests for all of their communications to ICE and ICE representatives, which they will not share. So. It’s sort of this like, don’t know if I can completely trust the police given behavior like what we see with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Let me ask you a little bit about this weak, watered down proposal from Governor Hochul. Could you explain that to listeners and why it’s not the way to go? Yasmine: We obviously have been pushing for New York for All for years. And, we thought that this was exactly the moment where the legislature and the governor would come together and recognize that this is the time for a comprehensive solution, We can’t have a piecemeal approach that creates some limited protections in some places and not in other places. And so, after the governor first announced her bill, the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, that bill includes a provision that would end 287-G agreements, these formal agreements between ICE and local law enforcement. And we know that that was a meaningful step. But when we look at the harms that we are seeing every day, like the story of the community member in Port Chester that I just described, none those would be protected by her bill. Because these are the actions of police officers that are making in counties and towns and cities that are making choices to engage in this kind of collusion with ICE, even without a 287-G agreement. And so we continue to sound the alarm bell that we needed New York for all in its entirety. And unfortunately, what the governor came back with, not once, but twice, was a proposal that would actually still empower the police to use their unfettered discretion to decide whether or not they’re gonna notify ICE of someone. So first she [Hochul] came out with a proposal using this kind of probable cause framework, That as long as the police officer has probable cause to make an arrest, that they can then notify ICE, share personally identifying information about someone. First of all, it’s deeply dangerous. It flies in the face of due process and presumption of innocence that all New Yorkers are entitled to, to funnel someone to ICE when they’ve just been arrested. But secondly, it would just give total deference to police officers to decide, whether or not they have the ability to notify ICE. So the governor came back with a second proposal that was arguably even worse. So that proposal essentially creates a way for any local law enforcement to only have to say that they’re investigating a crime in order to notify ICE. So that could be something as simple as, somebody is stopped in their car while driving. A police officer looks in the back seat. Maybe they see a bag. They decide that they, have a concern about that, they want to initiate an investigation, they can articulate this, and they can say, I’m now kind of investigating a crime; and I’m going to, as a result, I have the ability to notify ICE about this person. There’s no legal standard around what she was proposing. It’s really made up. It incentivizes the worst of racial profiling and discriminatory policing. And I think what’s worse is that we were trying to be sold on this as some kind of meaningful step to curtailing the collusion and the police to deportation pipeline when, in fact, it was actually taking an area where the law is currently silent and codifying a way in which police would be authorized to notify ICE. So it was actually not just not going far enough. It was taking us backwards. I think advocates and not just advocates in the coalition, but immigrant rights advocates, civil rights advocates, faith leaders, labor unions, you know, people responded very quickly and very robustly to these proposals and said, no, we don’t want this, right? We don’t want you to give law enforcement this kind of unfettered discretion. So our understanding as of yesterday is that that provision that’s in the budget that the governor was trying to sell us on has been removed. And so that’s great. And yet also it is deeply disappointing that we are in a position where we have to be fighting off these harmful provisions rather than celebrating a comprehensive bill. And, one other thing I’ll note is that we’ve also been tried to be sold on the idea that this is about protecting victims. And there was some language in this provision that sort of they would be able to exempt victims as though, police would be making that determination when they’re in these, in these circumstances. But the idea that police in any meaningful way would be making that determination about who they or aren’t funneling to ICE is really concerning. Often victims themselves face allegations. Not to mention there are cross complaints. It’s not a workable approach. Often victims themselves face allegations and not to mention that there are cross-complaints, right? So it’s not a workable approach. And the last thing I’ll say is that, you know, we are calling for New York for All we want it in its entirety. This is the long-term solution. But I would say that advocates have put forward more incremental ideas. That would be more about kind of creating more building blocks towards restricting collusion. But those have not been entertained by the governor. Anything that doesn’t hinge on an officer having unfettered discretion has been out outrightly rejected. BJ: And that echoes the other statement we have from Supervisor Richardson where she had forwarded the email that I was reading from to State Senator Skoufis’ staff noting her quote, “vocal dislike of New York for all because it removes local authority from local boards and police and how they choose to run their own locally funded police.” Where do things stand right now? Because people will be listening to this. Hopefully, they’ll be on strike. Tomorrow is May 1st. This episode will be out May 1st. No school, no shopping, no work for May Day. And ideally, I have a sneaking suspicion that the budget situation won’t be resolved. So if they’re listening to this on Friday, May 1st, what should they know about where are we right now? Yasmine: Well, one thing I want to say first, because listeners will be tuning in on May 1st, is that I think it’s one thing that’s been really incredible and encouraging to see is that we have seen a huge show of support for New York for All from labor unions over the course of not just the past year, over the course of the past several years. It was just before May 1st last year that a dozen unions wrote a letter to the governor and the Senate majority leader and the assembly speaker explaining that New York for All is necessary to protect workers, right? And to protect the right to organize. Unfortunately, we are here a year later without New York for all having having passed, but labor unions have continued to be some of our strongest allies. So I wanted to just name that. And then in terms of where things are at, we know that there is a package being negotiated in the budget that will have provisions that are related to immigration. And we know that there will be some things in there that people will celebrate. And some of those may be meaningful steps and some of them may be quite hollow and quite superficial in terms of actually having an impact to New Yorkers. We know that no matter what happens in the budget though, that we as a coalition and with our allies, we are going to be right back there in Albany after the budget for the rest of the legislative session. Urging our state leadership and the governor to take action. They may say they’re done, but we’re not done. We will see what the budget has once it’s completed, that is not going to dictate our continued organizing and advocacy to get the actual solution we need. BJ: My last question for you is for people in Orange County, it can be frustrating because we have a state senator who tells you he supports New York for All, but he’s alleged to be actively undermining it. And then we have three assembly representatives in Paula Kay, Chris Eachus, and Karl Brabenec. [And Brian Maher.] Brabenec being a Republican, he doesn’t support the bill. Kay says she supports the bill, but doesn’t want her name on it. And Eachus does whatever Skoufis tells him. So it can be really frustrating for Orange County residents when it comes to their state representatives. What can we do? What can people listening to this do that want to support the Immigrant Defense Project and want to help pass New York for All given our representative limitations? Yasmine: First I’ll say that we’ve been very lucky to have such strong sponsors on our bills. I, you know, we’re incredibly grateful to both Senator Gounardes as an assembly member, Reyes, for being such champions on New York for All. And I will say we have many champions and that is part of what has has kept up the momentum, right, who have joined us ⁓ in this fight. And then we know that there are those who might have their name on it, but are not really doing much else or who are actively opposing it. And what I would say is that, for people in communities with representatives who are turning away from this and not understanding how key this is, not to let them look away from the stories. We know, and again, folks should go on our website and check out our map, New York Ice Collusion Watch. It certainly is not comprehensive, right? This is through anecdotes and that we confirm once people share them and folks should feel free to reach out. But we want to make sure that people are humanizing kind of the impact and not letting their representatives off the hook. We saw the tragic death of Mr. Alam [https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/04/buffalo-rohingya-refugee-death-homicide-border-agents], earlier this year, would likely still be alive today if it weren’t for the fact that, local law enforcement had shared his information with ICE and CBP. And yet, we saw so many legislators say that they stand with him and with his family. We saw the say that she stands with his family. And yet, I think that hypocrisy needs to be exposed. And so I think I would tell people to make sure that they don’t lose accountability to their constituents. So make sure that those constituents who are impacted, whether it’s because they’re teachers or school, families who are scared or they’re in hospitals, whatever it is, that they go and they meet with them and they don’t let them off the hook. And that they call them and they email them and they show up outside of every space that they can to have their voices heard and that they join us in Albany. Because we are gonna be back. We’re not going anywhere. And so I encourage people to follow the immigrant defense project. They can follow us on Instagram and on social media. We also have a New York for All specific Instagram page [https://www.instagram.com/immdefense]. And we’re going to continue to, that’s NY4ALL, and we’re going to continue to keep people posted there. BJ: I strongly encourage people to check it out, and if you have a few bucks, make sure to contribute as well. BJ: We have an upcoming event on Saturday, May 2nd, I want to tell you about from three to seven PM called Seeds of Freedom. It’s going to be at Downing Park Lake in Newburgh, New York. All you have to do is look out for those red balloons. And I’m here with one of the organizers of the events. Would you like to take a moment to introduce yourself? Geleni Fontaine: Yes, thank you so much for having me, BJ. My name is Geleni Fontaine, and I’m with a group in Newburgh, New York called Semillas which means seeds. And we’re put together in order to create energy and support for migrant folks in our community and particularly people, families that are impacted by state violence. So we’re excited about having this free event in the park. BJ: Tell me bit more about the organization for people who might not be familiar. Geleni: Sure, we’re brand new. So we’re actually still in the process of creating a mission statement. But what matters to us that we’ve all decided on, that we’ve all discussed pretty thoroughly is that we want to be supportive of people who are directly impacted by the kind of violence that immigrants in this country are facing right now, the kind of terrorism really, particularly that’s impacting children and families. So we want to create events and spaces and conversations in which people are able to not just find different ways of plugging in to experiences that are resisting that violence, but also doing different things to support each other and themselves. So we want to create spaces that are healing spaces. And that’s part of the reason for having this event in the park on BJ: Was there a moment that triggered the creation of this group? Geleni: I don’t know if there was a moment that did. A number of us are involved in all different kinds of organizations and groups throughout the area. I think that particularly as the crisis started happening in detention centers and as we started thinking about how a lot of the leadership of some of organizations, particularly mainstream ones, is among White folks and people who aren’t directly experiencing this kind of violence. We wanted to create spaces to help move leadership up, from people who are most impacted. So I think that was the the kind of driving force behind it And and that’s something that we hope to to work on our what are our we’re actually as a group We’re not called semillas That’s the name of the event. Our group name is Caracoles which is snails. And for us, it’s a really evocative and wonderful image and metaphor because snails move slowly, snails create community. So there’s the idea of just kind of creating a pace in which everybody can move forward together. So that’s really what we’re about. BJ: I really like that because we constantly try to tell people that fascism isn’t defeated in some big climactic battle. It takes thousands and thousands of these little steps that you never see and never even hear about that finally take it down. It looks like it’s coming down all at once. And snails are perfect metaphor for that. Geleni: Yeah, absolutely. And coming from the earth. You know, really from the grass roots, from the ground up. BJ: I know it’s early days, but if someone is listening to this and they’re interested and they wanna get involved, what’s the best way for them to do that? Geleni: Well, I think one great way would be to come to the event if they’re able to. People who right now who are part of Caracoles are, know, most of us are in the mid Hudson Valley, but there are also a lot of us that have New York City roots. I think we have one member who’s in the Bronx, but yeah, but we’re creating different kinds of coalitions and relationships. So. We’re definitely open to including more people in that conversation. BJ: Is there any significance to the red balloons? Geleni Fontaine: I think the red balloon is just really to be visible so that folks can find us easily. BJ: Tell us a bit about what’s happening? So Saturday, 3 to 7, Downing Park Lake in Newburgh. What can people expect to do? Like what’s being given away? Geleni: Well, it’s gonna be a pretty mellow community space. There’s going to be community singing, different kinds of freedom songs, from various multicultural traditions in which people use singing together as resistance and community healing. So that’s gonna be a big part of it. We’ll also have a zine that’ll be offered for free that includes information about supporting different kinds of resistance against state violence, against migrant people, about building community power and healing. So that’ll be available. There’s going to be a seed planting stations, which will be really great. And that’s very much in keeping with our message and with this happening the day after May Day. And it’s, the event is about seeds, what we can grow together. So there will be a chance to actually grow something physical together as well. There’s also gonna be a children’s story time circle. There is a campaign called Read Them Home campaign that is in support of detained children in the Dilley Detention Center in Texas, and also detained children and families everywhere. So this is a campaign in which people come together and read children’s stories, in honor of these children and also promoting that kind of community space and those circles. So we’re having a family story time hour, that’ll be part of that Read Them Home campaign. I’m also, an acupuncturist. I’m going to be offering community acupuncture in the space. And I think that there’s also gonna be some food and probably a lot of other things, because it’s been growing, as more people have offered to support in different ways. So, yeah, and the weather looks like it’s going to cooperate. So we’re excited about that. BJ: Yes. I’m going to keep my fingers crossed because I know there was the event in Goshen and the weather was just terrible for that day. Geleni: I’ll mention we do have a rain date of Sunday, the following day. But I think both days are supposed to be cloudy but not rainy. So at least during the time of the event. So hopefully it’ll all go well. BJ: And it’s so for the rain day, would it be the same times from three to seven? Geleni Fontaine: Yes. BJ: And tell me just a bit more about the zine. Because I’ve noticed that this is, mean, this is something I remember from my twenties, back in the punk rock days of, you know, getting worried about music scenes, but I’ve noticed that a lot of the movements across the country are using zines as a way to, basically cut past, the corporate media. I would just love to hear a bit more about that. Geleni: Yeah, a number of folks who are involved in caracoles are artists. And one person particularly, Chivita, is someone who has worked a lot through the use of zines, the medium of zines, in different social justice spaces. So that became a little bit of a nexus for us. So we thought that we would have this event as a way to distribute the zines and also to include a lot of information about social justice movements and different kinds of support within community. We want to offer space and information that centers community care. So that’s a big part of the zine, including the history of different kinds of care. There is a piece in the zine that is about the tradition of acupuncture that developed in New York City in the 70s that was very much led by people of color liberation movements. So, you know, there’s information about that and about so much more, including resources. And we just want to make sure that that’s something that we can offer to communities. BJ: It’s such a great thing too, because it gives people something to take home. And that to me is incredibly powerful. You’re not just going to an event, you’re taking something home with you that you can continue your journey on. Geleni: Yes, and it allows people to share it too, which is great. BJ: Is there anything that I haven’t touched on about this event that you want people to know about? Geleni: I like to highlight that it’s free so that everybody is welcome and that it’s also family-friendly. BJ: Yes, I think that’s so important too, especially finding free stuff, what to do with your kids and your family on the weekend is always tough, finding something that, you know, I don’t want to say like going to the movies isn’t a positive thing, of course it is, but going to a community event with your kids, I think is something that could inspire them. Geleni: Definitely. And you know, another thing I’ll add is that we’re trying as much as possible to make it a bilingual space according to our capacity so that everything will be offered in English and Spanish. So it’s a bilingual zine. Services will also be offered in both languages. There will be interpretation available as needed. We can’t provide access to other languages, unfortunately, but we wanted to to do what we could. So that’s something that matters a lot to us. BJ: Absolutely. I mean, yeah, it almost goes without saying. Just the importance of making sure anything that we do as resistance work is accessible to as many people as possible. And that’s fantastic. That’s something that I hope other community groups listening or the volunteers listening keep in mind for their events as well. Geleni: Yes. Yeah, definitely. BJ: Is there anything about the group that you want people to know? how can they get involved? Can they find you online? Like what? Geleni: We don’t have an online presence right now. We’re very new, but we’re committed to continuing and we’re going to have a conversation when this event is over about what comes next for us. So we should be reaching out soon. And in the meantime, people can look for us in Downing Park. BJ: Seeds of Freedom, Saturday, May 2nd from 3 to 7 p.m. with the rain date of Sunday, May 3rd, 3 to 7 p.m. at Downing Park in Newburgh. Make sure you look for the red balloons. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.monroegazette.com/subscribe [https://www.monroegazette.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Gun Safety Advocates Lose, Tech Companies Win Under Sneaky NYS Budget Provision

New articles on The Monroe Gazette are on hiatus until BJ finishes his book, “How to Protect Yourself From Fascists & Weirdos.” It will be released in late May or early June of this year. If you would like a free .pdf or .mp3 copy of the book when they become available, subscribe to the Stupid Sexy Privacy newsletter here [https://www.stupidsexyprivacy.com]. Articles will resume on The Monroe Gazette in early May. Until then we’ll be running brand new episodes of the podcast. The Monroe Gazette is brought to you commercial free; and with no pay-wall to access over two years of our coverage of issues in Southern Orange County and beyond. If you would like to help keep the lights on, we’re looking to recruit 500 new, paid annual subscribers between now and December 31st. All you have to do is hit the button below. Paid subscribers get access to occasional bonus content, podcast audio, our behind the scenes Facebook group, and the ability to comment on posts just like this one. The following is the full transcript from this week’s podcast. The transcript has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity where neded. BJ Mendelson, Editor of The Monroe Gazette: Rory, thank you so much for joining us on The Monroe Gazette. we’ve had a couple of representatives from the Electronic Frontier Foundation on our sister podcast, Stupid Sexy Privacy [https://www.stupidsexyprivacy.com]. But because this is The Monroe Gazette podcast, I was hoping you could take a moment just to introduce yourself and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Rory Mir, Director of Open Access and Tech Community Engagement at the Electronic Frontier Foundation: Yeah, I’m happy to and thank you so much for having me on. I’m Rory Mir. I’m the Director of Open Access and Tech Community Engagement at the Electronic Frontier Foundation [https://www.eff.org]. The EFF has been fighting for over 30 years now. I wasn’t there the whole time, but over 30 years defending our civil liberties online. Basically bringing digital rights into a digital world. So a nonprofit law firm constantly defending innovation, privacy, and I’m particularly interested in defending consumers from bad tech practices from tech companies. BJ Mendelson: The reason why we’re having this discussion on the Monroe Gazette as opposed to Stupid Sexy Privacy is because right now there is a provision in the New York state budget that the Electronic Frontier Foundation caught concerning 3D printers. Could you walk us through that? Rory Mir: Folks that are familiar with the New York budget process know a lot of things get wrapped up into the budget And as usual it gets delayed quite a bit. So we’re still pushing back on it right now. There’s a couple of provision impacting 3d printers which folks are familiar with 2d printers, but 3d printers for folks that aren’t familiar are kind of like hot glue guns that you tell a computer to control and that slowly builds up a shape in three dimensions. Often you see this being used by artists, making cool statues or cosplay costumes. It’s also really common in more commercial settings where people are making prototypes or researchers testing a new shape for things. So it’s really this cool technology that lets you fabricate things without going through big manufacturers and kind of iterate quickly and build up new creative ideas. So we’re fans of this open innovation that it brings to folks on the grassroots level. And what this provision and the budget does is threatens that basically. It curtails a lot of that expressive freedom by mandating a software that we think is dangerous, a print blocking mandate that is yeah so out of fear of ghost guns and people making firearms and firearm components with these machines basically New York State in this proposed budget would have a database of forbidden files and mandate — without any details I need to emphasize — a way for all of these 3D printers to not be able to print shapes that could be used in that context, which I think there’s a lot of good intention coming into this. People are concerned about gun violence and unlicensed firearms. However, when you speak to people who actually understand how these machines work and just the nature of making a 3D shape, it is not something that is possible. There are many ways that any algorithm trying to detect shapes can be undermined quite easily. So we’re concerned that while the people that are being targeted, the people who are trying to make firearms and similar components with these machines will be able to follow a quick tutorial to get around those blocks, the many, many other creators, researchers, innovators, that use and rely on these machines are going to be stuck with this technology that the only real way to do it is to have it be surveilling users and there’s no safeguards in those in the provisions for that. So we’re really worried about the impact that it’ll have on the lawful use of these machines and really just don’t want it to be rushed through this budget process without any safeguards or oversight for those regular lawful users. BJ: So let me break that down a little bit. Because I think the concern from the ghost guns came from the murder of the United Health Care CEO and the claims that Luigi Mangione may have used a 3D printed gun [https://www.wired.com/story/luigi-mangione-ghost-gun-built-tested/]. But my understanding is it’s actually really difficult to make a functioning gun from a 3D printer. Is that right? Rory: Yeah, it requires a level of understanding the craft of it. Technically, you don’t even need a 3D printer. Homemade DIY guns have existed long before 3D printers because it is ultimately a simple machine that once you know how to machine it, you can do it. So 3D printers... You can make a cheap error prone one that might blow up in your hand if you don’t already have that existing knowledge of how firearms work and how to properly put one together. So while it is possible for someone to make one with a 3D printer, there is a level of know-how that has to go into it as well. BJ: Right, and I have to imagine, and this is all getting into hypothetical territory, but I have to imagine that if someone is particularly motivated to print a 3D weapon, that nothing is really going to stop them from doing it. Rory: Yeah, I mean, that gets into this mandated software on these machines. One of the things is that it is easy enough to alter it because it’s unlike something tightly regulated and standard like currency. People will point to you’re not able to print a dollar bill, but that is a very specific reference with very specific design standards. So being able to detect whether it looks like that is quite simple. With a firearm, you’re talking about a function. So any shape that can or can potentially serve that same function falls into that definition. And that gets even further complicated by the fact that with 3D printing, the machine only sees what you’re printing in the moment. So if you print something that has a lot of extra adornments, you can maybe shave it down to a core component. And likewise, if you... kind of print a bunch of pieces of a firearm and then later fuse them together, you can also make one that way. So the machine isn’t gonna see your intention, right? It’s only gonna be able to look at the file and that’s what makes it so easy to game if you are determined to make these firearms. BJ: Right, and so my concern here is the way that this software is described, sounds like, and just how you’ve explained it, it looks like it’s not specifically targeted at guns, it’s targeted at gun-like shapes, is that right? Rory: Yeah, so we’re seeing a few of these in different states that have slightly different language. The New York one is really less detailed than ones we’ve seen in Washington and California. It’ll be decided by a working group without peer review, which is concerning to us. So it could be loaded with people with financial interests on how this works. The thing that is shared across these bills is often the receiver of the firearm, which is the part that needs a serial number when you buy or alterations, which is even more abstract of simple shapes that can turn a handgun into a machine gun, you can make with literally a clothes hanger, or you can 3D print a shape that looks like that. And that is the same sort of abstract shape that is being implicated in these bills. BJ: You were kind enough to send me a bunch of material, which I read through. And I found that I was kind of lost as to what exactly the software does, who exactly would enforce the penalties and then the penalties themselves seemed kind of outrageous. Could you explain those to us? Rory: So in New York, a lot of it is really focused on the sellers. So a lot of the penalties will come to a seller who sells one of these machines that doesn’t have this mandated software on it. So that one of the things that really strikes me about that is that that extends to the second hand market that someone who has a printer today, if this passes in a few years might want to sell it to recoup some of those costs, or maybe get a new one. And then they would be implicated in these same penalties, which really range, but include potentially financial penalties or liability for anything that is done with the machine that is sold. BJ: I was kind of shocked at this suggestion that people would have to buy, [the 3D printers face to face.] So if you lived in our region and you wanted a 3D printer because you saw what was being done at SUNY New Paltz [https://www.newpaltz.edu/hvamc/], or you are interested in resistance work where you want to print out whistles for detecting ice, that you would have to go and meet someone in person to purchase a 3D printer. Is that right? Rory: Yeah. It’s absurd. I feel that not only for the purchase, but for the delivery of the device. And there’s no exception to commercial folks. So this bill includes 3D printers as well as something called CNC machines, which are similar to 3D printers, but kind of do the opposite. They carve a shape out of metal or wood instead of adding plastic together. And those are very expensive. For machines that are typically used by huge industries, aerospace, automotive, medical, manufacturing, these huge commercial industries would also have this silly face-to-face requirement. But then the other thing I think of … I lived all over New York state in my life, including quite a bit of time in the Finger Lake region. And frankly, you having to drive to one of the few stores that has this, which, you know, I don’t know that I can only name a handful off the top of my head that even sell 3D printers. You have to drive there to buy it instead of ordering it online. And that has all the inherent limitations of having to be buying in person of whatever’s in stock. Whatever brands has a deal with that reatalor So there’s a lot of practical headaches for the people who want to get into and would benefit most, I think, from these printers, people who want to repair things without having to take it to the nearest shop or have things sent over from the other side of the world. BJ: Yeah, I mean, you mentioned the finger legs. I was just thinking of like a student at Alfred State having to drive a few hours to go and meet some random person to buy a 3D printer. It sounds like you’re buying drugs. That’s the thing that struck me was, you know, I feel like the marijuana dispensaries right now, I could just walk into one as long as I show my driver’s license. And I don’t like I don’t have this weird requirement that I can only buy it in person, face to face. So, who benefits from all this? This really seems to me like it’s more the tech companies are pushing this than people who are actually concerned about gun violence. Rory: Yeah, I think it’s pretty clear that the winners from this aren’t the gun safety advocates, but are the major makers of these printers and retailers that sell these printers that it would become far more difficult and burdensome for someone to break into the market once you have this sort of regime set up where you have to not only build this technology upfront in order to, again, this like magic bean technology of being able to prevent a firearm from being printed, but then the ongoing costs of keeping that updated, meeting the requirements and it creates this huge headache that would only really benefit from a handful of the biggest makers of these devices. BJ: And did you see that in the … I saw the California legislation that had been proposed and the Colorado legislation that had been proposed. Do you find that it’s the same group of people that sort of pushing this? Rory: I think there’s a lot of similarities on the gun safety side of it, which again, I think is well intentioned and I value gun safety there. But then I think a lot of the discussion on the industry side of it, of, it has been pretty secretive. We’ve met with one or two major manufacturers between these 3D printers, but they never seem to mention who they’re meeting with. So, you know, one can draw their own conclusions from that. But I think it is remarkable that the big printers have been so quiet on this, something that would impact their customers so negatively. [Emphasis added.] BJ: Right. You had a great term. I know what it means because we’ve interviewed Cory Doctorow So we’ve talked about enshitification quite a bit. But you used, I saw the term used by the EFF of an “enshitification lock,” which is essentially what this legislation is trying to do. And I was hoping you could explain that to people who might not be familiar. Rory: So I’ll actually back it up a little bit to talk about digital rights management software, which folks might not be familiar with. And there’s a pretty good analogy for this print blocking technology where … Basically, it is now a federal crime and has been since the DMCA passed to alter any code that exists to prevent copyright infringement. And this is what makes it difficult to move an e-book from one device to another. And people are, famously people know about it, restricting people’s ability to repair tractors like John Deere tractors. And a lot of that comes from having this code that has this special permission that makes it difficult for users to navigate around. So DRM gives manufacturers the special leverage over customers so that we can see it manifest in 2D printers with HP. Making it difficult to get ink for your printer. There is a DRM protection that you can only use the appropriate ink and that makes it more expensive to use the ink. And a lot of that is because of this special code that you’re not able to circumnavigate and just get the cheap ink that would be otherwise available. So by building this in and making it a mandate and tying it to the legal system, you’re creating not only a huge incentive but a legal protection for these anti-competitive practices on the part of the tech company making it. BJ: Yeah, and I think it’s I find it troubling that we’re not talking about doing away with that DRM in the budget, but we are talking about adding like additional DRM to these. Rory: Exactly. And yeah, again, with this one, it really creates this incentive of surveillance, right, because they are asking for this big abstract type of blocking that you can’t really do with the type of firmware that’s on these machines. And it would be difficult to do with the slicing software, which is the software you use to use the printer on your own laptop. So it’s really encouraging it all going to an AI analysis in a cloud somewhere, which means everything someone prints being sent and observable to these folks. Privacy violation. Chills speech. And it has a lot of practical considerations, particularly with commercial buyers with intellectual property theft. Those other extra risks that are being introduced by this. BJ: Was the Colorado law thrown out over free speech. Was that a successful lawsuit? Rory: So the Colorado law, right as it was reaching the finish line, removed a few provisions that were making it criminal to share the files for these gun components. And it was removed at the last minute by the governor due to First Amendment concerns. And I haven’t given as much attention to it, but that is also one of the provisions in this New York budget of making it a crime to, in certain circumstances, to share or to possess these files. So we have similar First Amendment concerns about what’s in the New York provision. That as nice as it’s, again, it comes from this sort of well-intentioned place, what if we can just mandate that things were nice, without the real practical considerations that criminalizing information doesn’t work. Someone who’s intent on getting these files or sharing these files are gonna find ways to do so, which we see with things like copyright infringement and piracy, that it’s not really a barrier, it’s just an extra charge to throw at someone when they’re already doing something that’s illegal. And that’s something I haven’t emphasized yet, but it is already illegal in New York to produce or sell one of these 3D printed firearms. So we’re just adding additional laws that hurt consumers for something that’s already illegal. [Emphasis added.] BJ: You beat me to it. was gonna say, isn’t it already illegal to like, make and possess these weapons? Rory: Yeah, as of I believe 2022, yeah, to, I believe it was passed in 2019 [https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2019/senate-passes-gun-safety-legislation-ban-3d-printed-guns]. But yeah, to produce these firearms, these unlicensed firearms is already a major crime to produce or sell. BJ: It reminds me a lot of like the digital ID, digital driver’s license push, where I understand where some of it comes from, where you, okay, you don’t want kids to access horrible content. I completely get that. But in the process of, you know, quote unquote, protecting the children, you’re actually creating this huge digital database of everyone’s driver’s license and everyone’s face and all of the data that comes with it. And do you really want to be doing that right now when you have an authoritarian regime running the federal government? And so this to me, seems like sort of the same deal, right? There is a good idea. I’m adamantly against gun violence. The problem with guns is guns. I would get rid of all of them if I could. But to me, it seems like we’re not really solving the problem here. We’re just using the problem as an excuse to enrich certain companies and at the same time create yet another database, right, of stuff that you don’t necessarily, you might not, you might be listening to this thinking I have nothing to hide, but you might be, you live in a very fluid situation. For example, if you were to move to a red state and abortion is illegal, right, then if you print out material about abortion, you are committing a crime according to that state. So even if you, quote, have nothing to hide at the moment, laws like this have a tendency of coming back and biting you in the ass later. Rory: Yeah, yeah, it’s ultimately about defending grassroots innovation and user rights. And yeah, today it is something that feels very sympathetic and can only grow from there once this infrastructure is in place, right? Right now it’s about the safety of building something that is more inherently dangerous, but one could make a similar argument about the safety of printing your own repair parts, that do you really want people repairing their bicycles with a 3D printed component if, you know, maybe it would break and not be printed correctly? And then I think the natural next step is, of course, copyright. I’m sure many companies would like a way to prevent people from printing their own cheap alternatives to either commercial sold repair parts or even if you think about toys and things that a lot of people make 3D printers with, know, your toy Pokemon figurines might be blocked just because Nintendo doesn’t want people buying or building their own instead of buying from them. So I think there’s a core kind of creativity we’re defending here, even if it starts with something that is harder to defend, right. BJ: It’s one of those things where it’s, again, it’s all presented under, all of this stuff is always presented under the best of intentions. But once you start to look underneath, you start to realize, oh, OK, this is a little bit more than what you’re saying it is. Let me ask you in the time that we have left, what, well, I guess it’s a two-parter, which is what can or what is the EFF considering on this front? And what can people do that are listening to us, what can they do to get this out of the budget? Rory: Yeah, I think right now it’s such an important time to reach out to representatives since we’re in this prolonged budget. Going to Eff.org/3dprintNY [https://eff.salsalabs.org/NewYorkBudget3DPrinterProvisions/index.html] is our action page that lets you easily message your assembly member and state senator with a customizable message so you can include your own thoughts and we’d encourage you to. And I think really it’s we’re in a state of it’ll pass any day now so taking that action now is really urgent. I think beyond that it’s not going to be the last 3D printing legislation we see other bills introduced that would require a criminal background check in order to buy a 3D printer. You know, and again, this is a fringe use of 3D printers. Right. And it’s also a fringe way to make a ghost gun, like overwhelming ghost guns are made from DIY kits that are mass manufactured. [Emphasis added.] BJ: Right, it’s not common at all. I think that’s something we should stress is that like the… Rory: So it’s a fringe from both angles. This is, we’re talking about a very small subset of people and to subject everyone to already face-to-face sales, but potentially as well, these background checks is pretty ridiculous and will just disempower local communities and local makers. So I think keeping an eye out for these other bills as they come up. But right now, we’re in a big mobilization push for this budget. Since, again, we’re on borrowed time. BJ: Rory, thank you so much. Where can we find you? I mean, you mentioned the Action page. How else can we get involved and support the EFF? Rory: Yeah, so if folks want to support EFF’s work, they can go to EFF.org/join [https://www.EFF.org/join] and become a supporting member. If you want to follow me, I’m on a little site called Mastodon, false mirror at Masto.nyc [https://masto.nyc/@falsemirror]. But yeah, I think following our work on the main site at EFF.org is probably the best way to keep in the loop. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.monroegazette.com/subscribe [https://www.monroegazette.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

If You Think You're Safe From ICE, You're Wrong

Below is a transcript from today’s episode of the podcast. It has been edited for brevity and clarity. Above is a flyer for tomorrow’s event. We hope you can be there. The Monroe Gazette is brought to you commercial free; and with no pay-wall to access over two years of our coverage of issues in Southern Orange County and beyond. If you would like to help keep the lights on, we’re looking to recruit 500 new, paid annual subscribers between now and December 31st. All you have to do is hit the button below. Paid subscribers get access to occasional bonus content, podcast audio, our behind the scenes Facebook group, and the ability to comment on posts just like this one. BJ Mendelson, The Monroe Gazette: Hello everyone, welcome to another edition of The Monroe Gazette podcast. I want to let you know that on Saturday, April 25th, which will be tomorrow for most of you that listen to this, there’s going a national day of action stop other ICE warehouse detention centers. As some of you know, we for now have blocked 29 Elizabeth Drive here in the village of Chester from becoming a ICE detention facility [https://www.monroegazette.com/p/how-did-a-bog-turtle-save-chester]. But you know, the fight goes on across the country. Tomorrow (Saturday) From 12 to 1.30 p.m. at the Orange County Government Center at 255 Main Street in Goshen, New York. There’s going to be a National Day of Action that’s organized by Indivisible Goshen, Rural Migrant Ministries, and Gateway House among numerous others. So we really hope to see you. As a lot of you know, even though we did block the ICE Detention Center from opening up in Chester; over in Orange County Jail in Goshen, they still have an entire wing that is dedicated to housing ICE detainees [https://www.monroegazette.com/p/do-you-want-to-help-kick-ice-out]. So. ICE is not completely out of our community. All that said, I’m joined today by a representative of Public Citizen [https://www.citizen.org/], which is one of the organizations that put this coalition together. Omar, I’m hoping you might take a moment just to introduce yourself and tell us what you do at Public Citizen. Omar Angel Perez, Rule of Law Coordinator at Public Citizen: Hi everyone, my name is Omar Angel Perez and I am the rule of law coordinator for Public Citizen and in this role I work with different grassroots and community organizations across the country. We’re focused on protecting democracy and the rule of law. And in this case, working with different partners, and primarily the Detention Watch Network [https://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/] organizing this day of action across the country. BJ: And can you tell us real quick, I know some of our older listeners might be familiar with Public Citizen from the days of Ralph Nader, but could you just tell us some of the other things that Public Citizen does that they might not be aware of? Omar: Yeah, so Public Citizen is an organization that has been around for 50 years now and its primary focus is the protection of democracy regardless who is in power and the White House and the Congress. In the last two, three administrations, we’re just keeping an eye on how the administrations have been conducting themselves in this case since the first Trump administration, Public Citizen joined other organizations on different occasions, beginning with a focus on preserving democracy in the country and protecting communities who have been under attack. BJ: And just full disclosure for people listening, I am a paid member of Public Citizen. I get the newspaper. I recommend that everyone join [https://donate.citizen.org/page/59138/donate/1]. Omar, can you tell us a little bit about what is happening this weekend? Omar: Yeah, so as we all know, because it’s been in the media a lot, the Trump administration has been expanding their capacity to target immigrant communities, regardless of their status. And we witnessed the deployment of national guard and ICE agents in different parts of the country, different cities taken over. I’m based in Washington, D.C. I live in Washington, D.C. I have two kids who go to elementary school here in the district. And We witnessed how ICE agents were literally taking over our streets, targeting our neighbors, arresting people. Arresting teachers, caregivers outside our schools. And that’s one way how this administration has been targeting our communities and neighborhoods. The other way they’ve been doing is expending their capacity by Republicans in Congress allocating more money to fund DHS and ICE. And expanding also the detention centers by buying warehouses across the country. We know because there’s a lot of reports out there about the horrible conditions. [https://www.npr.org/2026/04/03/nx-s1-5754749/ice-detention-deaths-are-on-a-record-pace-one-texas-facility-bears-the-brunt] People are being in this detention center, some people calling them actually concentration camps because the conditions they are on there. BJ: Yes. [https://www.monroegazette.com/p/frequently-asked-questions-about] Omar: Right like there are in Daly, Texas outside of San Antonio, there are incarcerated minors, minors who’ve been in, you know, with no way to be in contact with the loved ones, with their attorneys, like nobody knows what’s happening to them. [https://www.propublica.org/article/life-inside-ice-dilley-children] We know stories of pregnant women with no access to medical care in these detention centers. There is a report that’s coming out about forced labor. People in detention, migrants have been forced to work through this program that ICE has in place and all that they get paid is like one dollar per day. And so there is these horrible conditions that this administration are … BJ: Wow. Omar: Keeping our people under. And now they want to increase their capacity to continue detaining people, churning people, and they want to expand their capacity by buying these warehouses, and with a capacity of detaining between 1,500 to 10,000 people. And these warehouses have no conditions to, like … They are warehouses. They’re not to, you know, house people. They’re there to store stuff, but not people. So we’re missing what’s happening right now. We just cannot imagine what will be the conditions these people are going to be held if they are allowed to, if they are able to expand their capacity by buying these warehouses and expanding these detention centers. So Public Citizen, the Disappear America campaign [https://www.citizen.org/news/this-weekend-disappeared-in-america-actions-demand-justice-and-due-process-for-immigrant-families/], Detention Watch Network and Indivisible, Move On are the core partners of this day of action that is started by a group of folks coming together and thinking, okay, what we can do in this moment to bring attention what is happening and also responding to the outcry of the community in different parts of the country? Pushing back this intention of expanding ICE capacity of detaining people. So we started basically with the idea of saying, okay, let’s organize the day of action. And then it went from that idea to like massively have a response from the communities across the country. And what we started, we’re thinking about, we’re going to have like one action, probably in DC, expanding out to almost 200 actions across the country. If you go to the mobilize page, [https://www.mobilize.us/?tag_ids=31108]you will see the map. And it’s, we’re talking about, you know, from Texas to Alaska, from Washington state to New Mexico, like it’s all over because people are tired of this situation and people are, speaking out after the horrible condition we witnessed people are in these detention centers. BJ: Absolutely. And I think it’s important to stress to people that even when the media moves away, they being ICE and DHS and the other federal agencies are still snatching people. They’re still snatching people in Chicago. What they did was they moved more towards like the outer rim of the city. I have a lot of friends in Los Angeles and we still are hearing reports every day of strong ICE activity. So even if the cameras are gone, it’s important that these events happen because I think people need to realize that it hasn’t stopped. ICE hasn’t gone anywhere. Even if you don’t hear about it in the news so much, they are still very active out there. Omar: Yeah, they are very, very, very active. As you say, just yesterday I was with a driver, happened to be this woman from El Salvador. And she was telling me how she has to like work multiple jobs now because her husband was detained just like a few days ago while he was on his way to work. And even when he was, he has a case, a legal case, and he was going through the process of the case, he was a team with another group of coworkers, and now he is being deported to Guatemala, a country that he left when he was a minor. He’s been in the country for more than 20 years, and what we’re seeing is precisely that, right? Like, they don’t care who you are. If you look at it as an immigrant, you are a target. Regardless what your status, regardless you have a criminal history or background, whatever it is. And I just want to say here, right, a parenthesis, people have this narrative about like the good and bad immigrant, who is deserving, who has a criminal record and all that. We need to remind ourselves since the Trump administration, they criminalize being an immigrant. They criminalize being in this country. Like, regardless the way how you came in, regardless how one was brought in when you were a kid. This dehumanization of immigrants by criminalizing everybody, right? And, and it’s very punitive. By doing that, they are violating basically all laws or processes or proceedings. They themselves don’t respect the laws that they have in place by the way they are acting. BJ: A number of studies have come out since the first Trump administration that demonstrates if you are here as an immigrant, you’re more likely to contribute to your community. You’re more likely to pay your taxes [https://www.cato.org/blog/immigrants-pay-more-taxes-average-person#:~:text=The%20primary%20reason%20that%20immigrants,is%20higher%20than%20an%20American's.]. You’re less likely to commit crime than an American citizen [https://www.congress.gov/119/meeting/house/117980/documents/HHRG-119-GO00-20250305-SD029.pdf]. It’s sort of like the we’ve allowed the the corporate media and the Trump administration to kind of tell people the opposite is true. Omar: Absolutely, yeah. we see also, I there are polls coming out almost every day that shows where the American people stand on this, right? [https://www.axios.com/2026/03/04/trump-ice-support-abolish-half-americans-record-poll] Like, they are not only against the incarceration of immigrants, they are not only not happy about how this administration is handling the immigration, the immigrant issue, but they actually now are pushing against ICE. Like the polls are showing that more than half of the population are for the dismantling of ICE as an agency because the way, the violent way they are targeting our communities. And we witness, It’s not now, it’s not only, they are not only targeting immigrants, right? What we witness in Minnesota, in Minneapolis, they are targeting non-immigrants as well. So they’re targeting all Americans who are speaking out and pushing back against this administration. BJ: Yeah, and I think people need to know that the Supreme Court said, they call it the Kavanaugh stop, where if you’re not white, then you can be pulled over by law enforcement for suspicion of being here, quote unquote, illegally. So it’s something that poses a real risk. I think about Marimar Martinez, who was pulled over. They shot at her. They didn’t kill her, but they then tried to detain her after she was shot. They like absolutely were harassing this poor woman. And she’s here as a citizen and that did not stop them from hounding her. So yeah, you’re absolutely right to point out that it’s very easy to think, well, you know, they’re just going after quote unquote the bad ones, right, or the criminals, but nothing could be further from the truth. Omar: Absolutely, you’re right. you know, just earlier today, I was in communication with some partners a lot of the work that Public Citizen does is through the Not Above the Law Coalition [https://notabovethelawcoalition.org/], we work with also veterans groups, organizations, veterans … Something that I come across to recently is the story, a couple of stories of spouses of military members who’s being detained at the moment where the military members were reporting to be deployed to Iran. And there is this story of this guy who reported to his base with his wife and his wife. She in the country legally, but she is a resident and she’s like, you know, she’s waiting for her case. Well, guess what? While he was waiting, they were waiting, the ICE agent show up and detain her and now she’s in a detention and she’s going to be deported. So you think like, what’s the logic here? Right? Like they are, we’re talking about people who are serving their country, but this government is not even respecting their basic human rights and they’re targeting their spouses and relatives. So that’s immoral. I don’t even have words of how to describe this. BJ: Absolutely. Yeah, it’s criminal. It’s absolutely criminal. I think people need to understand that, you know, because the thing, we’re kind of a purplish area, right? So when we do events like the one on Saturday at 12 p.m. at the Orange County Government Center at 255 Main Street, sometimes we’ll hear people say, well, you’ve got to do it the right way. But what they don’t understand is the right way is broken. Like it was intentionally broken. The apps don’t work. We’ve completely understaffed our federal court that handles immigration cases. So people could be waiting forever just to get a hearing. And in that time ICE comes and grabs them. Let me just switch gears just a little bit. So here in Chester, we were able to, for now, stop ICE from acquiring a warehouse. They were dead set on it. There was a bipartisan, pretty ferocious backlash to it and ICE kind of backed away [https://www.monroegazette.com/p/how-to-prevent-a-concentration-camp]. But we still have this specter of, ICE could come back at any time because ICE lies. Pictured Above: Readers asked us for an update on the Chester Concentration camp. Above you’ll see ICE’s response to The Monroe Gazette on April 21st, 2026. BJ: And I was hoping you might be able to just touch on that a little bit, that this agency that is supposed to be the one handling it and allegedly protecting us is consistently lying to the point where you have a community like ours where we think ICE is gone, you we think that they’re not going to grab that warehouse, but it’s just constantly hanging over us that they can come back at any time. Omar: Yeah, that is true. If you pay attention, we pay attention, ICE became basically Trump’s private army. And they are just doing whatever he’s doing. If he’s saying that they need to, well, actually, it was [Stephen] Miller who said a quota of the things for today. [https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/29/politics/stephen-miller-trump-immigration-minneapolis] BJ: Yes. Omar: So they need to fill that quota. They’re gonna go and do whatever they gotta do in order to meet that quota, but also they need a space where to send those people. And when you think about the polling, the number of deportations that are aiming towards, which I think the latest was like a million per year, they need to work with the countries they are sending, they’re reporting those people to. And that takes a lot of work and a lot of time. So it’s not something like easy that they were going to put people on the next plane, next flight, and then they get rid of them. That’s why they need spaces to incarcerate them. And not only that, right? They are a handful of private companies like GEO Group and others who are making profits out of the suffering of people on those detention centers. And they are signing like this huge multi-billion contracts with the government to run those spaces, those detention centers. And they’re doing it to us. So because all these reasons, they are gonna come back over and over because that is what they are told to do and that’s what they want to do, right? So for our communities, we need to continue being paying attention. We need to continue being in relationship with local elected officials. We need to continue being on those meetings and those spaces, continue speaking out, lifting our voices because they are going to try to find ways to go around us in order to buy those warehouses, open those detention centers, and those goes in detriment of our own local communities, right? Like the resources that we have, they’re gonna use it to ruin [the environment], and to run those detention centers. So we need to be paying attention to that constantly. BJ: What more can we do as people listening to us? Aside from becoming a paid member like I am, of Public Citizen, what are things that people can do to help kind of bang the drum on this? Omar: Yeah, so I think there are a lot of things that we can do, right? Locally, one is talk to your neighbors. You have an immigrant neighbor, check in on them. Just go say hello, ask how they are doing, what they need. If it is like any local mutual aid group, get connected. Go to talk to them, ask how you can help. There is a lot of need for now. There is a lot of people who are suffering in this country in this moment and they need your help. If you are a member of a church, even if you are not a member of a church, you can go to the local church and ask them if they are doing anything. If they don’t, you should talk to your pastor and say, hey, pastor, we need to do this. This is the moral call. And continue organizing, continue participating in these kind of actions and bring your friends. Bringing your own networks, build your networks. Right now the immigrants are the scapegoat. The next we know are citizens and it’s already happening. Something that I wanna put on people’s minds, people who are listening to us in this moment is if you are a citizen, don’t be sure that you are protected. Look around, just look around and what’s happening in this country. Because the next thing that I’m gonna wanna get rid of is your citizenship. BJ: Yeah, and you know, we already have three citizens that were killed. You know, like, factually we can, two of which was on camera. One was not, and then there’s also the Marimar Martinez shooting. So you have three that we know for sure that were killed and one that was shot. [Editor’s Note: Rene Good, Alex Pretti, and Ruben Ray Martinez were killed by ICE.] And that’s just what we know about. And that’s not even talking about, you know, I know that one of the deaths recently in these concentration camps, which is what I prefer to call them, was recently ruled a homicide. And the number of deaths reported by ICE since their founding. [https://www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/deaths-and-health-care-issues-in-ice-detention-centers-under-the-second-trump-administration/] It hasn’t been higher than it is right now. And I always try to tell people, you know, what do you think they’re going to do with these warehouses after they’ve deported everybody? You know, like they’re going to, they’re not going to turn around and say mission accomplished. They’re probably going to go and start rounding up other people, myself included, as a journalist. Omar: Yeah, totally. that’s something that we have witnessed in other parts of the country, You look at history, history tells us a lot. And you’re right. They will continue profiting out of those spaces, out of those detention centers. So who are the next one after the immigrants? Just imagine a day without immigrants in this country. Who are going to be those ones who they’re going to put in those detention centers? BJ: Yes. Is there anything on this topic that I should have asked you or could have asked you and didn’t that you’d like to touch on? Omar: No, I just appreciate you. I appreciate the work that you do. And I appreciate everybody who’s taken to the streets this Saturday. We need you. Your community needs you. Your country needs you. this is the way how we are supposed to, to act and react in this moment. So thank you. BJ: Absolutely, and thank you for all you’re doing. And just a reminder for people listening, April 25th, that’s Saturday, 12 to 1.30 at the Orange County Government Center, 255 Main Street is going to be our location for the National Day of Action. Omar, thank you so much. Omar: Thank you. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.monroegazette.com/subscribe [https://www.monroegazette.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

This Could Be Your Last Shot at Getting New York For All Passed

Below is the transcript from today’s podcast episode. The transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity. *** BJ Mendelson: Hello everyone, and welcome to another edition of the Monroe Gazette podcast with your host, BJ Mendelson. We interviewed State Senator Andrew Gounardes today about the New York for All Act. There’s a lot of discussion going on about this bill, particularly in the town of Monroe, as you might have seen if you watch the two recent town board meetings. (Below, at 48:49 from this week’s meeting, you can see the bill being discussed by residents, and then at 1:03:18 you can hear the Town Board’s response as to why they are not moving forward with it.) BJ: We’ve been trying to get them [The Town of Monroe] to pass a ceremonial — it’s purely ceremonial, it’s not binding in any way, shape, or form — resolution that would encourage State Senator Skoufis and assembly members Eachus and Brabenec who represent Monroe, to endorse and support the New York for All Act [https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S2235/amendment/A]. This is one of the things that Skoufis says he supports, but Skoufis says he supports lots of stuff. (Skoufis is not a co-sponsor of the bill in the Senate. Eachus, Kay, and Brabenec are not co-sponsors in the Assembly.) Like with any any of these politicians these days, you have to look at what they do and not what they say. So the jury is still out on that one. However, we did speak with Senator Gournardis. I do want to bring the interview to you. I think we had a great discussion. It’s a little brief. But it will bring you up to speed on the New York for All Act. Before we get to it, I want to let you know that this Saturday, April 25th is not only my birthday, but it is also another hands-off Hudson Valley stand-up event. So we hope to see you on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the corner of Lake Street and 17M in the town of Monroe. If you’re concerned about the corporate Democrats dragging their feet on passing New York for All, be there. If you’re concerned about why Congressman Pat Ryan does not support Medicare for All, be there. And if you have concerns about the village of Monroe, and there’s a lot to be concerned about with the new Melchiorrie-Mancuso axis, because clearly it looks like former mayor Mancuso is in charge and Alex Melchiorre is just there as a plant for the real estate developers … If you’re concerned about that, we also would like to see you Saturday, 1 p.m. at the corner of 17M and Lake Street in the village of Monroe. All that being said, let’s get to today’s interview. The Monroe Gazette is brought to you commercial free and with no pay-wall to access over two years of our coverage of issues both in Southern Orange County and beyond. If you would like to help us keep the lights on, we’re looking to recruit 500 new, paid annual subscribers between now and December 31st. All you have to do is hit the button below. Paid subscribers get access to occasional bonus content, podcast audio, our behind the scenes Facebook group, and the ability to comment on posts just like this one. Our Interview With State Senator Andrew Gounardes BJ Mendelson, The Monroe Gazette : Would you like to take a moment just to introduce yourself to people who might not be familiar? State Senator Gounardes: I’m State Senator Andrew Gounardes from Brooklyn, New York. BJ: And I know that you, we’ve talked before about New York For All, but for people that are just coming into this midstream, could you briefly explain to us what this bill does? State Senator Gounardes: Absolutely. So, New York for All is a piece of legislation that I sponsor that would prohibit any local or state government agency or any local or state law enforcement agency from colluding and conspiring with ICE for the purposes of immigration enforcement unless there is a signed judicial warrant by a federal judge. And why this is so important is because we’ve seen all across the state an increase in the circumstances and instances where local governments, particularly local law enforcement, are working hand in hand with ICE or CBP, which is Customs and Border Patrol, along many of our northern border communities. And they’re working hand in hand with them to carry out immigration enforcement. And that looks like a lot of different things. It could be that local law enforcement are arresting people on false pretenses, and then turning them over to ICE. It could be that local law enforcement is tipping ICE off to where undocumented immigrants might be, or sharing information about undocumented immigrants, and then kind of facilitating this dragnet of a draconian immigration policy that we’re seeing play out all across the country. And why this is so important to stop is because A, we just fundamentally believe that New York State resources and New York State personnel and our tax dollars should not be used to facilitate and contribute to this terrible immigration crackdown that is literally tearing families apart, especially because ICE is now one of the most well-funded law enforcement entities in the country. I mean, they have a $75 billion budget [https://www.americanprogress.org/article/congressional-republicans-one-big-beautiful-bill-act-creates-an-unaccountable-slush-fund-for-the-trump-administrations-deportation-force/]. Why do they need our help? And secondly, and this actually might be more important, it actually doesn’t help increase public safety when you let local governments or local law enforcement work hand in hand with ICE, because all that does is push people into the shadows and it tells them that they should not call local police for help, that they should not trust that when they call 911 for assistance, that they’re actually gonna be taken care of, that they should not go to a local public hospital when they need emergency care. And what could be more destabilizing to the safety of not only an individual, but to a whole community when you can no longer trust your local government? And that’s what we see happening play out all across the state, which is why New York for All is so critically important. BJ: Absolutely. And just so you can help me clarify a couple of things that popped up in Orange County. Recently, there was a protest about the agreement with Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus to house ICE detainees at OCJ, Orange County Jail [https://www.americanprogress.org/article/congressional-republicans-one-big-beautiful-bill-act-creates-an-unaccountable-slush-fund-for-the-trump-administrations-deportation-force/]. The county executive, when asked about the protest, said that legislation in Albany, such as New York for All, would end that agreement. Is that right? Is that how that works? State Senator Gounardes: So it would not be the New York for All bill, it would actually be the Dignity Not Detention bill, but the same premise applies. So Dignity Not Detention basically says that local governments cannot enter into contracts with ICE to use their jail facilities for immigration detention. So broadly speaking, he [Neuhaus] is correct. He got the name of the bill wrong, but he’s correct. We’re trying to both of these practices. BJ: In the town of Monroe, we’ve been trying to get them to pass a purely ceremonial resolution in support of New York for All. And one of the reasons they gave against it was that Hochul apparently has like this watered down version. So I’m just hoping you can clarify what the difference is between the actual New York for All and this watered down weak version that Kathy Hochul is pushing. State Senator Gounardes: Well, the governor proposed several weeks ago a measure called Local Cops Local Crimes Act [https://www.nyclu.org/resources/policy/one-pagers/the-new-york-for-all-act-vs-governor-hochuls-local-cops-local-crimes-bill], which would basically ban any formal agreement between the local government and ICE. These are known as 287-G agreements. Now, these types of agreements are where local entities enter into a formal partnership, it’s like a signed contract, about what they will or will not assist ICE with. And there’s different ways that this could take. There could be agreements to house immigrants in local detention facilities. It can be agreements to share certain types of information. It can be agreements to deputize your local law enforcement to act as ICE agents side by side with ICE, as we’re seeing in Nassau County. So the governor’s proposal is to ban those. And that’s good, and that’s important. And New York For All would also ban those. But we’ve seen so much collusion that is not formalized in a contract, like a 287-G agreement all across the state. Earlier this year, everyone has made national news, the Rohingya refugee in Buffalo, Nurul Alam who had a legal status to be here, he was a refugee with legal status, was arrested by the Erie County Sheriff on false charges, was held for nearly a year, and then was just simply turned over to Customs and Border Patrol. For whatever they were going to do with him and then five days later he showed up dead on the side of the road. The governor’s proposal would not address those circumstances. In Port Chester, West Chester County earlier this year, there was a young man driving to church and he was pulled over by the police for having tinted windows. Now, tinted windows, you if you have them, you get a ticket, you get a desk appearance ticket, you gotta show up. Just like if had a broken tail, you gotta show up, you gotta say, well, I fixed the window, I fixed the tail light, whatever. He was not given a desk appearance ticket. He was brought into the local precinct, he was detained, and then he was transferred to ICE for immigration detention. And last we heard he was in Louisiana trying to fight off his deportation. That’s the type of collusion that New York for all would prevent that the governor’s proposal would not put a stop to. And then just last week, the governor made another amendment to her proposal and she said, we would not allow local law enforcement to coordinate with ICE unless they had probable cause that an immigrant may have committed a crime. Now, that to me, and I think to many people, is highly problematic because that is such a subjective standard. And, you know, just last week in Brooklyn in a different circumstance, local police officers went into a bodega to arrest someone that they thought they had probable cause to believe was a drug dealer, they beat the living tar out of him, and they had the wrong guy. [https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nypd-brooklyn-liquor-store-arrest/6490366/] And we know that this story plays out time and time and time time time time again, right? I mean, local police make mistakes. That’s, you know, everyone’s human. But now we’re saying that if local police believe that an immigrant or frankly someone who looks like an immigrant may have committed a crime, we’re just gonna tell ICE. Without zero protections, without zero due process, without anyone being charged, without anyone being convicted, without any proof whatsoever, that’s highly problematic. And so we’re still trying to hold the line and push to ban all types of collusion because we know that that actually is going to be the thing that keeps people safe and that keeps communities stabilized. BJ: Absolutely. And it makes me nervous too, because the city of Newburgh just has an awful track record in terms of how it works with the residents of its city and its transparency. And the Orange County Sheriff also actively stymies FOIL requests concerning ICE and detainees. So when you talk about leaving it to these local police forces to make these decisions, that’s sort of just sounds scary. [At the time of this writing, Orange County Attorney Rick Golden is attempting to hold up a FOIL request placed by The Monroe Gazette concerning Orange County’s communications with ICE involving Orange County Jail. The Monroe Gazette will be submitted a FOIL appeal shortly.] Why wasn’t this bill passed in early January when everyone came back into session? It just seemed like such a, I mean, it’s a Democrat trifecta in New York state. It just seemed like a slam dunk. What held it up? State Senator Gounardes: Well, were trying, New York for All is an important piece of a much broader puzzle, much bigger puzzle. And there are many other things that we want to do to protect immigrant New Yorkers that are not covered by New York for All. For example, what happens when schools are involved, when children are removed from schools, when parents are separated from their kids, when someone, an ICE agent shows up at a school and a school staff member doesn’t know how to respond and they let someone in the building inappropriately. You know, there’s no guidance there. What do we do around other types of sensitive locations? Churches, hospitals, daycare centers, things like that. What legal recourse do people have when their civil rights have been violated by these ICE officers? Are there measures we can put in law to give people access to the courthouse whenever their civil rights have been violated by ICE, as we’ve seen happen across the country? So we had been working to put together a comprehensive immigration package, the centerpiece of which would have been New York for all with a couple of these secondary but equally as important pieces. And then the governor put out her proposal right after she dropped her, made her executive budget presentation. And then the immigration conversation got folded into the budget debate. And so we’re on this track right now where everything is being negotiated as part of the budget. The budget is nearly a month late and we only have a couple of weeks left before the legislature gavels out of session. And so this might be the only opportunities we have to pass as comprehensive a package of immigration protections as we can get this year. BJ: Right, and so then we only have time for one more question because I know you have to run, so just just tell us in brief where where are we right now as of this morning this recording and what can people do to help push it over the finish line? State Senator Gounardes: Well, right now we are still trying to push back against the governor’s proposals and to try to bring her closer to the New York for All side of the spectrum to say that there should be no instances in which local police are actively working with ICE. That local police are not creating fabricated instances of probable cause to turn someone over to ICE, that local police are not taking civil infraction matters and then turning them into criminal investigations to justify sharing information with ICE. I think that anyone who’s concerned about keeping ICE in check and anyone that is concerned about protecting ⁓ immigrant and non-immigrant neighbors alike need to make sure that they are calling the governor’s office and calling their state legislators, state legislators telling them that this is really important to them and that we should not sacrifice, be willing to sacrifice people’s safety under the guise of trying to do something that’s actually not going to protect people. BJ: That’s perfect. And for people listening, I can’t stress enough the importance of calling Paula Kay, Chris Eachus and James Skoufis, all of whom, at least in principle, support New York for All. I at least say they do, but some of them have given reasons that they won’t co-sign or sponsor the bill because they’re afraid of their constituents, apparently. So please do get on the phones. Senator Gounardes thank you so much for joining us this morning. Note to readers: We have reached out to Assembly Member Kay about her meeting with the Mid-Hudson Valley DSA concerning New York For All. Eric Feinblatt on behalf of the MHVDSA told The Monroe Gazette. We hope to get clarity on what her exact positions are, and how she will vote, on both NY4All and Dignity not Detention. A post on Dignity Not Detention is forthcoming. “Four representatives of Mid-Hudson Valley DSA traveled to Albany on April 21 to take part in the No Collusion, No Cages Advocacy Day and meet with Assembly Member Paula Kay about two immigration bills moving through the Legislature: New York for All and Dignity Not Detention. We had scheduled the meeting a week earlier, but were told that Assembly Member Kay would be unavailable all day and that we could instead meet with an administrative assistant. We sent the assistant our talking points and asked that they be shared with Kay in advance, so she could come prepared for a substantive discussion. When we arrived, however, it became clear that the “assistant” was actually an intern who was unfamiliar with both bills and said she could not speak on Kay’s behalf. This was the second time Kay had sent an intern to meet with DSA’s Solidarity Working Group. Kay then stepped out of her office, asked what the meeting was about, glanced at her schedule on a computer screen, and decided it would be better to join the conversation herself. Her answers were essentially the same as when I met with her five weeks earlier in Narrowsburg: she said she would support New York for All, though not sponsor it, but, as a former prosecutor, could not support Dignity Not Detention. That position seemed inconsistent and suggested a limited understanding of the legislation. When pressed, she shifted to saying that she had received significant constituency feedback opposing Dignity Not Detention, which raised further questions. Are her constituents really able to distinguish between these two bills so clearly? Is she? We asked whether, if enough phone calls, emails, and postcards came in support of Dignity Not Detention, she would reconsider. She did not give a direct answer. We left the meeting with the impression that Assembly Member Kay is making legislative decisions based on which way the political winds are blowing, though it remains unclear what is shaping those winds. Twice now, she has treated DSA’s request for a serious conversation about urgent state and national issues as worthy only of sending an intern.” State Senator Skoufis refuses to answer any questions submitted to his office by The Monroe Gazette. Assemblyman Chris Eachus does whatever Senator Skoufis tells him. If we hear from any of these people, we’ll update this story here and let you know. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.monroegazette.com/subscribe [https://www.monroegazette.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]