S 1066: Relates to providing access to services, law enforcement and counsel in certain immigration related matters.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1066 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. SERRANO, BAILEY, COMRIE, GIANARIS, HOYLMAN-SIGAL, JACKSON, KAVANAGH, KRUEGER, PARKER, PERSAUD, RIVERA, SANDERS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance AN ACT to amend the executive law and the judiciary law, in relation to access to services, law enforcement and counsel in certain immigration related matters; and to amend the judiciary law, in relation to compensation of legal counsel for certain matters The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new article 15-AA 2 to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 15-AA 4 ACCESS TO SERVICES AND LAW ENFORCEMENT IN CERTAIN IMMIGRATION RELATED 5 MATTERS 6 Section 319. Definitions. 7 319-a. Access to services, assistance and eligible benefits. 8 319-b. Federal agencies to investigate and enforce federal 9 immigration laws. 10 319-c. Confidentiality of information. 11 319-d. Custody of certain persons: bail and related pre-trial 12 issues. 13 319-e. Civil immigration detainers. 14 319-f. Limitation on use of certain facilities. 15 319-g. Legal representation. 16 319-h. Effect on other laws. 17 § 319. Definitions. For purposes of this article, the following terms 18 and phrases shall be defined as follows: 19 1. "Agency" shall mean any state or municipal department, board, 20 bureau, division, commission, committee, public authority, public corpo- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD00458-01-5 
 S. 1066 2 1 ration, council, office or other governmental entity performing a 2 governmental or proprietary function for the state or any one or more 3 municipalities thereof. 4 2. "Agent" shall mean any officer, official, employee or volunteer 5 working for, employed by or providing assistance to an agency. 6 3. "Civil immigration detainer" shall mean an administrative request 7 issued pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 287.7 or any similar request issued by an 8 agency or agent of the United States for the detention of a person 9 suspected of violating the immigration law of the United States. 10 4. "Family or household member" shall mean a family or household 11 member, as defined in subdivision two of section four hundred fifty- 12 nine-a of the social services law. 13 5. "Federal immigration authority" shall mean any officer, employee 14 or person otherwise paid by or acting as an agent of the United States 15 immigration and customs enforcement or any division thereof or any other 16 officer, employee or person otherwise paid by or acting as an agent of 17 the United States department of homeland security or any other federal 18 entity who is charged with enforcement of the provisions of any federal 19 immigration law. 20 6. "Federal law" shall mean a provision of the Constitution of the 21 United States, or a statute or similar provision approved by the 22 Congress of the United States that has been enacted and taken effect. 23 7. "Immigration status" or "immigration status information" shall mean 24 immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of an individual under the laws 25 and regulations of the United States of America. 26 8. "Judicial warrant" shall mean a warrant based on probable cause and 27 issued by a judge serving pursuant to article three of the United States 28 constitution or a federal magistrate judge serving by appointment pursu- 29 ant to 28 U.S.C. § 631, that authorizes a federal immigration authority 30 to take into custody a person who is the subject of such warrant. 31 9. "Law enforcement agency" shall mean any agency that is empowered by 32 law to conduct an investigation or make an arrest for a crime or 33 offense, or any agency that is authorized by law to prosecute or partic- 34 ipate in the prosecution of a crime or offense, or any agency authorized 35 by law to jail, detain or imprison a person under color of law, or any 36 agency employing a police officer, as defined in subdivision thirty-four 37 of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law or peace officer, as 38 defined in subdivision thirty-three of section 1.20 of the criminal 39 procedure law. 40 10. "Terrorist screening database" shall mean the United States 41 terrorist watch list database lawfully maintained by the terrorist 42 screening center of the government of the United States. 43 § 319-a. Access to services, assistance and eligible benefits. 1. 44 Except where explicitly required by state or federal law for the purpose 45 of verifying eligibility, continued eligibility, or upon recertif- 46 ication, no state or local agency, or agent thereof, may make any 47 inquiry or record any information concerning the immigration status or 48 place of birth of a person who is seeking public assistance and care, as 49 such phrase is defined in subdivision eighteen of section two of the 50 social services law, or seeking any other benefit, assistance or service 51 for themself or on behalf of a family or household member or any other 52 potential beneficiary. Provided, further, that such information shall 53 not be used or disclosed to any state or federal agency for any purpose 54 other than verifying eligibility, continued eligibility, or upon recer- 55 tification. 
 S. 1066 3 1 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of this section, 2 limited inquiry of such information concerning the relevant person may 3 be made when such information is requested for the benefit of the person 4 by the office for new Americans established pursuant to section ninety- 5 four-b of this chapter or any other similar agency that is assisting 6 such person in matters related to such person's immigration status, 7 provided that the status of such person shall not be disclosed for any 8 purpose. 9 3. In addition to any other right to the assistance of interpretation 10 or translation services, any foreign-born person, or person not profi- 11 cient in the English language, to whom inquiry is made pursuant to this 12 section shall be entitled to the assistance of a neutral and qualified 13 interpreter or translator, as the case may be, with respect to such 14 inquiry, provided at no cost or expense to such person. 15 § 319-b. Federal agencies to investigate and enforce federal immi- 16 gration laws. 1. No state or local law enforcement agency, or agent 17 thereof, shall stop, question, interrogate, investigate or arrest a 18 person for any of the following: 19 (a) suspected United States immigration or citizenship status 20 violation; 21 (b) suspected violation of the United States immigration law or 22 authorized regulations; or 23 (c) a civil immigration detainer. 24 2. No state or local law enforcement agency, nor any agent thereof, 25 shall make any inquiry or record any information concerning the immi- 26 gration status or place of birth of a person who: (a) contacts, 27 approaches or asks for or is in need of assistance of a law enforcement 28 agency or (b) is stopped, questioned, interrogated, investigated or 29 arrested; except where such immigration status or place of birth infor- 30 mation is an element of a criminal offense in a specific, ongoing law 31 enforcement investigation engaged in by such state or local law enforce- 32 ment agency, or agent thereof, or where such inquiry or recording of 33 such information is otherwise authorized by this article. 34 3. No state or local law enforcement agency, or agent thereof, shall 35 perform the function of or be cross-designated as a federal immigration 36 officer or otherwise engage or significantly assist in the enforcement 37 of federal immigration law, pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1357 (g) or any other 38 federal law, regulation or policy. Nothing in this subdivision shall 39 prevent detention of a person in accordance with and to the extent 40 permitted by section three hundred nineteen-e of this article. 41 4. In addition to any other right to the assistance of interpretation 42 or translation services, any foreign-born person, or person not profi- 43 cient in the English language, to whom inquiry is made pursuant to 44 subdivision one or two of this section shall be entitled to the assist- 45 ance of a neutral and qualified interpreter or translator, as the case 46 may be, with respect to such inquiry, provided at no cost or expense to 47 such person. 48 § 319-c. Confidentiality of information. Unless disclosure is required 49 by a lawful court order, no state or local agency, or agent thereof, or 50 state or local law enforcement agency, or agent thereof, shall provide 51 to a federal immigration authority any information collected or obtained 52 with respect to a person in accordance with this article or otherwise, 53 including but not limited to home, work or school address, except that: 54 1. providing immigration status information shall not be prohibited if 55 requested by such federal immigration authority and required to be 
 S. 1066 4 1 provided to it in accordance with 8 U.S.C. § 1373 or another federal 2 law; 3 2. the division of criminal justice services or a qualified agency, as 4 defined in subdivision nine of section eight hundred thirty-five of this 5 chapter, may provide criminal history information, as defined in para- 6 graph (c) of subdivision one of section eight hundred forty-five-b of 7 this chapter, when lawfully requested about a specific person and such 8 disclosure is permitted by state law; and 9 3. a state or local agency, or agent thereof, or state or local law 10 enforcement agency, or agent thereof, may provide such information, 11 other than the information described in subdivision one of this section, 12 concerning a person, including but not limited to status as a victim of 13 or witness to suspected criminal activity, home address and/or work 14 address, only with informed written consent of the person and, if 15 represented by counsel, written authorization by such attorney. 16 § 319-d. Custody of certain persons: bail and related pre-trial 17 issues. 1. Except as provided in section three hundred nineteen-e of 18 this article, no state or local law enforcement agency, or agent there- 19 of, or court shall delay or deny release of a person on recognizance or 20 bail, pursuant to article five hundred thirty of the criminal procedure 21 law or otherwise, on the basis of the person's immigration status, a 22 civil immigration detainer, or a federal immigration authority's request 23 for notification about, transfer of, detention of, or interview or 24 interrogation of such person. 25 2. Upon receipt from a federal immigration authority of a civil immi- 26 gration detainer, or a request for transfer, notification, interview, 27 interrogation or other request, a state or local law enforcement agency, 28 or agent thereof, shall promptly notify the person who is the subject of 29 such detainer or request and such person's counsel, provide a copy of 30 such detainer or request, as the case may be, to such person and coun- 31 sel, inform such person of the right to counsel pursuant to the 32 provisions of section three hundred nineteen-g of this article, and 33 inform such person and counsel, reasonably in advance of responding to 34 the federal immigration authority, as to whether or not such agency 35 intends to comply with such detainer or request. 36 3. A person in the custody of a state or local law enforcement agency, 37 or agent thereof, shall be subject to booking, processing, right to 38 counsel, release and transfer procedures, policies and practices of that 39 agency that are at least as protective of individual rights as other 40 persons in such agency's custody, regardless of the person's actual or 41 suspected immigration status. 42 § 319-e. Civil immigration detainers. 1. A state or local law enforce- 43 ment agency, or agent thereof, lawfully holding a person in its custody, 44 may thereafter detain such person solely on the basis of a civil immi- 45 gration detainer, for a single period not exceeding forty-eight hours 46 excluding weekends and holidays, beyond the time when such person would 47 otherwise have been released from such agency's custody, only if: 48 (a) an authorized federal immigration agency presents such state or 49 local law enforcement agency with a judicial warrant for the detention 50 of the person who is the subject of such civil immigration detainer at 51 the time such civil immigration detainer is presented; or 52 (b) notice has been received from a court or any other governmental 53 entity, documenting that the person illegally reentered the United 54 States after a previous removal or return as defined in 8 U.S.C. § 55 1326, and the person stands convicted of a violent felony offense as 56 defined in subdivision one of section 70.02 of the penal law, or a class 
 S. 1066 5 1 A felony offense defined in the penal law, or an offense in any other 2 jurisdiction that has the same essential elements of any such violent 3 felony offense or class A felony offense; or 4 (c) such person is identified by such state or local law enforcement 5 agency as a likely match with a person listed in the terrorist screening 6 database. 7 2. Except to the extent that disclosure is required by federal law, no 8 state or local law enforcement agency, or agent thereof, shall provide 9 to a federal immigration authority, or another agency, entity or person 10 on behalf of a federal immigration authority, any information obtained 11 concerning a person who is in or formerly was in the custody of such 12 state or local law enforcement agency, or agent thereof, including but 13 not limited to the person's release date, court appearance date or 14 dates, home, work or school address. 15 3. Nothing in this section shall be construed to confer any authority 16 on an entity to detain a person based on a civil immigration detainer 17 beyond the authority, if any, to do so that existed prior to the enact- 18 ment of this section. 19 § 319-f. Limitation on use of certain facilities. 1. No state or local 20 law enforcement agency, or agent thereof, shall provide a federal immi- 21 gration agency, or agent thereof, with access to an individual in such 22 law enforcement agency's custody or control. 23 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of this section, 24 a person in the custody of a state or local law enforcement agency may 25 request to be interviewed by a federal law enforcement agency or an 26 agent thereof only with knowing and voluntary written consent of the 27 individual and, if represented by counsel, written authorization by such 28 counsel, provided that if such individual is not represented and is 29 entitled to counsel assigned pursuant to section three hundred nine- 30 teen-g of this article or article eighteen-B of the county law, the 31 person shall be notified of such right and provided a reasonable oppor- 32 tunity to obtain such counsel before any such interview. 33 3. In addition to any other right to the assistance of interpretation 34 or translation services, any foreign-born person, or person not profi- 35 cient in the English language, to whom inquiry is made pursuant to this 36 section shall be entitled to the assistance of a neutral and qualified 37 interpreter or translator, as the case may be, with respect to such 38 inquiry, provided at no cost or expense to such person. 39 4. Except as provided in subdivision two of this section, federal 40 immigration authorities shall not be permitted to use or maintain, for 41 the purpose of interviewing any person or witness or investigating or 42 adjudicating any alleged violation of federal immigration law, any 43 office or quarters in any building or facility or any land owned, leased 44 or operated by a state or local law enforcement agency; provided, howev- 45 er that the federal Executive Office for Immigration Review, pursuant to 46 an otherwise lawful agreement with the state department of corrections 47 and community supervision, may make use of offices in one or more build- 48 ings or facilities operated as state correctional facilities in this 49 state for the purpose of conducting adjudicatory hearings involving 50 alleged violation of federal immigration law. 51 § 319-g. Legal representation. 1. A person unable to afford counsel 52 against whom a removal proceeding may be or has been commenced, shall be 53 entitled to representation by assigned counsel and related assistance, 54 pursuant to subdivision one of section thirty-five of the judiciary law, 55 when the person: 
 S. 1066 6 1 (a) was present in this state when questioned, taken into custody, 2 charged, summoned or presented with the allegations of the removal 3 proceedings, and the person resides or is detained in either this state 4 or an adjoining state; or 5 (b) resided in this state when questioned, taken into custody, 6 charged, summoned or presented with the allegations of the removal 7 proceedings, and the person continues to reside in this state or an 8 adjoining state, or if detained, continues to be detained in either this 9 state or an adjoining state. 10 2. Representation and related assistance provided in accordance with 11 subdivision one of this section shall be a state charge, pursuant to 12 subdivision one of section thirty-five of the judiciary law. 13 § 319-h. Effect on other laws. This article shall supersede conflict- 14 ing local laws, rules, policies, procedures and practices, except to the 15 extent that the provisions of any such local law, rule, policy or any 16 such procedure or practice may provide any additional or greater right 17 or protection. Nothing in this article shall prohibit any entity from 18 cooperating with a federal immigration authority to the extent required 19 by federal law. Nothing in this article shall be interpreted or applied 20 so as to create any power, duty or obligation in conflict with federal 21 law. 22 § 2. The opening paragraph of paragraph a of subdivision 1 of section 23 35 of the judiciary law is designated as subparagraph (i) and a new 24 subparagraph (ii) is added to read as follows: 25 (ii) Persons providing assigned counsel and related assistance in 26 immigration-related matters pursuant to section three hundred nineteen-g 27 of the executive law shall be compensated in accordance with this 28 section. In any case where a person entitled to assigned representation 29 pursuant to section three hundred nineteen-g of the executive law 30 petitions the criminal court of the city of New York, the county court 31 or district court, with jurisdiction where the person is to be ques- 32 tioned or detained, or is detained, or was charged in such immigration- 33 related matter, or most recently resided, the court shall assign coun- 34 sel, with appropriate expertise and experience in immigration-related 35 matters, in accordance with this section. 36 § 3. Severability. If any clause, sentence, subdivision, paragraph, 37 section or other part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of 38 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, 39 impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its 40 operation to the clause, sentence, subdivision, paragraph, section or 41 part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment 42 shall have been rendered. 43 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.