N.Y. General Municipal Law § 996-a: Restriction on use of municipal government resources for immigration enforcement

§ 996-a. Restriction on use of municipal government resources for

immigration enforcement. 1. No municipal government employee shall use

the resources of such municipal government including, but not limited

to, time spent while on duty or any property or facilities owned or

operated by or under the control of the municipal government for

immigration enforcement purposes.

2. No municipal government employee shall disclose to an immigration

authority or any employee thereof an individual's personally

identifiable information, including, but not limited to, such person's

name, social security number, physical description, any associated

addresses, telephone number, financial information, medical information,

or place of employment or education except as provided in subdivision

nine of this section or unless necessary to administer a public program

or benefit sought by such person; or when registering an individual to

vote and other election related matters.

3. No municipal government employee shall question, investigate, or

interrogate an individual solely on the basis of an immigration

detainer, a civil immigration warrant, or for the sole purpose of

immigration enforcement.

4. No municipal government employee shall inquire about a person's

citizenship, immigration status, nationality, or country of origin,

except as provided in subdivision nine of this section; or as necessary

to administer a public program or benefit sought by such person or when

registering an individual to vote and other election related matters.

5. No municipal government employee shall collect information about a

person's citizenship, immigration status, nationality, or country of

origin, except as provided in subdivision nine of this section; or as

necessary to administer a public program or benefit sought by such

person.

6. (a) (i) No municipal government employee shall grant permission to

access or facilitate access to non-public areas of property or

facilities owned or operated by or under the control of such municipal

government to an immigration authority or any employee thereof engaging

in immigration enforcement except as provided in subdivision nine of

this section.

(ii) Provided, however, that no municipal government or municipal

government employee shall grant permission to access or facilitate

access to a polling location to an immigration authority or any employee

thereof engaging in immigration enforcement where doing so would violate

18 §§ U.S.C. 592, 595, 52 U.S.C. § 10307(b), the Fourteenth Amendment of

the United States Constitution, or the Fifteenth Amendment of the United

States Constitution, except as provided in subdivision nine of this

section.

(b) Each municipal government shall implement policies and/or

procedures for all relevant employees in the event that a judicial

warrant or court order is presented for access to non-public areas,

including the protocol to verify the sufficiency of any judicial warrant

or court order to ensure such judicial warrant or court order complies

with the provisions of this section for permitting access to any

non-public areas. Such policies and/or procedures shall include a

designated contact for such inquiries. Nothing in this paragraph shall

abrogate or otherwise change any legal privileges, including, but not

limited to, the attorney client privilege, that may apply to such

inquiries.

7. No municipal government employee shall use an immigration authority

or any employee thereof as an interpreter or a translator for law

enforcement matters relating to individuals that such government or

employees interact with as part of their employment duties.

8. The provisions of this section shall not be construed to prohibit

or restrict municipal governments or municipal governments employees

from sending to or receiving from the United States department of

homeland security or any other federal, state, or local governmental

entity information regarding the citizenship or immigration status of an

individual pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1373.

9. The provisions of this article shall not prohibit municipal

governments or municipal government employees from complying with court

orders issued by a judge appointed pursuant to Article III of the United

States Constitution or a federal magistrate judge appointed pursuant to

28 U.S.C. § 631, or judicial warrants issued by a judge appointed

pursuant to Article III of the United States Constitution or federal

magistrate judge appointed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 631, or as otherwise

required by law.

10. The provisions of this article shall apply notwithstanding any

other provisions of state or local law, charter, code, ordinance,

resolution, rule, or regulation to the contrary and shall not be

construed to in any way expand the authority of municipal government

employees to participate in immigration enforcement. Provided, however,

that nothing in this article shall be construed to prevent or restrict a

municipal government from adopting, enacting, or enforcing local

policies, laws, resolutions, ordinances, or regulations which comply

with at least the applicable standards or requirements of this article,

or which exceed the provisions of this article, or which further

restrict municipal governments or municipal government employees from

participation in immigration enforcement beyond the requirements set

forth in the chapter of the laws of two thousand twenty-six that added

this article.

11. For any databases operated by a municipal government including

databases maintained for a municipal government by private vendors, the

attorney general shall, by the first of January next succeeding the

effective date of this section, in consultation with appropriate

stakeholders, publish guidance and training recommendations aimed at

ensuring that such databases are governed in a manner that limits the

availability of information contained therein, to the fullest extent

practicable and consistent with federal and state law including, but not

limited to, 8 U.S.C. § 1373, to anyone or any entity for the purpose of

immigration enforcement. All municipal governments may adopt necessary

changes to database governance policies consistent with such guidance.