Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Photo: Seth Wenig/AP

Legislation that would codify and expand a directive from the Office of Court Administration barring federal immigration officers from making civil arrests in state courthouses without a judicial warrant gained support from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday.

Cuomo said in a radio interview that he would support any lawful action by the state to limit the authority of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in New York, including the bill currently under consideration by state lawmakers in Albany.

That legislation, called the Protect Our Courts Act, would go beyond the directive issued by OCA last week by prohibiting civil arrests of undocumented immigrants in areas directly surrounding state courthouses, like sidewalks and parking lots. The OCA rule only prevents those arrests inside a physical courthouse when a federal immigration officer does not have a judicial warrant.

When asked about the bill, Cuomo said during a radio interview that he would support legislation to limit the authority of ICE as long as it’s written to survive judicial review.

“I want to do nothing to cooperate with ICE and the less we can facilitate what they’re doing the better, as far as I’m concerned. I think they've trampled on constitutional rights,” Cuomo said. “So you have federal supremacy clause but anything we can do short of breaking the law, I would do.”

The legislation hasn’t moved since it was introduced by state Sen. Brad Hoylman, D-Manhattan, and Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages, D-Nassau, in January. The pair sponsored the bill last year as well, but it failed to gain support from Republicans who controlled the state Senate at the time.

Now, the bill is more likely to become law with Democrats in control of both the Assembly and Senate following last year’s elections. It’s the first time Democrats have controlled the entire Legislature in nearly a decade, and they’ve already passed a series of immigrant-focused bills in the first few months of this year’s legislative session.

Cuomo, who has supported those initiatives, has been critical of federal immigration policy since President Donald Trump took office. The presence of ICE officers in and around state courthouses jumped as much as 1,700 percent between 2016 and last year, according to a report from the Immigrant Defense Project in January.

“I think they’ve been politicized by this president. Not only do I disagree with the policy, I disagree with the means,” Cuomo said.

He’s supported several other proposals designed to benefit immigrants that lawmakers have moved on already this year. One reduced the maximum sentence for class A misdemeanors from one year to 364 days—which allows immigrants convicted on those charges to avoid triggering deportation proceedings. Another will allow undocumented immigrants to receive some financial aid from the state for college.

The Protect Our Courts Act would build on that agenda by enforcing new protections for immigrants who are scheduled for a court appearance. That includes immigrants appearing in court on criminal charges, but it’s also intended to protect individuals who are seeking to resolve other matters through litigation. That could include an immigrant seeking relief through a lawsuit against their landlord, for example.

The directive from OCA requires ICE agents to state their purpose when they arrive at a state courthouse to arrest an immigrant. They also must have a warrant signed by a federal judge to make the arrest, not only an administrative warrant.

The Protect Our Courts Act goes beyond the directive in a few ways, mainly by preventing federal immigration officers from even getting to the point of arresting an immigrant inside a state courthouse. The bill, according to Hoylman, would prevent civil arrests of immigrants on their way to and from court on the sidewalk or in a parking lot, which ICE can currently do, and does.

The legislation would also bar ICE agents from even entering a state courthouse without a judicial warrant for the immigrant’s arrest. If those officers are found to have violated any part of the proposed statute, the immigrant would have a civil right of action to sue over their arrest. The state attorney general would also be empowered to enforce the proposed law.

The OCA directive doesn’t go that far, particularly because the agency wouldn’t have the power to do so. Court officials can’t legislate, they can only control the administrative procedures at state courthouses.

Hoylman said last week after the directive was issued that he still intended to push his bill because of the additional protections it would provide undocumented immigrants in and around state courts.

“OCA made it clear that our courthouses are sanctuaries and ICE is unwelcome. Still, there’s more we need to do to protect our immigrant communities,” Hoylman said. “The Trump administration’s vicious hostility to immigrants, enforced by ICE, is forcing victims and witnesses into the shadows, undermining trust in our courts, and making us all less safe.”

Changes could be made to the bill before it starts to move in the state Legislature. Hoylman said in an interview earlier this month before lawmakers departed for a break from Albany that the legislation could be amended in the coming weeks as he continues to seek support among his colleagues.

“We’re working on refinements to the legislation,” Hoylman said. “There’s a report that’s out, and I know the Immigrant Defense Fund is working on advocacy around the legislation and I’m hopeful that we can move the bill with some more education among our colleagues.”

Lawmakers will have eight weeks to move the legislation when they return later this month for session until they’re scheduled to leave Albany for the year in June.

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