Councilmember Aviles defends New York City sanctuary protections, urges more funding for legal "know your rights" work

Councilmember Alexa Aviles, chair of the New York City Council Committee on Immigration, told Manhattan Community Board 2's Human Services Committee at a March meeting that New York City's suite of sanctuary policies remain essential to public safety and community trust and that the city must increase funding for legal aid and "know your rights" programs.

Aviles said the term "sanctuary city" has no single legal definition but describes local policies that limit municipal cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. "Your status should have no bearing on how you use city services and how you engage," she said, describing a package of laws the city enacted to protect respondents'privacy and limit use of city resources for immigration enforcement. Aviles cited the Tenth Amendment and the U.S. Supreme Court decision Printz v. United States (1997) as legal foundations that limit federal power to compel local enforcement.

Aviles described key elements of the city's approach, including laws that generally prohibit city agencies from honoring immigration detainer requests unless accompanied by a judicial warrant and where specified criteria apply.…