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Cuomo Not Ready To Commit To ‘Sanctuary State’ Legislation

Mike Groll
/
AP

Governor Cuomo and the leader of the state Senate are not as enthusiastic about making New York a “sanctuary state” as are Assembly Democrats, who passed a bill earlier this week.  

Governor Cuomo, who has spoken out strongly for immigrants and against President Trump’s executive order banning travel from seven Muslim majority countries, is not committing right now to support a bill to designate New York as a sanctuary state for immigrants.

“We have to review the bill because exactly what a sanctuary state is, is a little ambiguous,”” Cuomo said in Schenectady on Wednesday.

Senate Republican Majority Leader John Flanagan said the measure could prevent police from enforcing federal immigration laws.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not only illegal, that’s unconstitutional,” Flanagan said in Albany on Tuesday.

Even Assembly Democrats, who hold more than two-thirds of the seats in that chamber, managed to approve the measures by just a few votes.

Karen has covered state government and politics for New York State Public Radio, a network of 10 New York and Connecticut stations, since 1990. She is also a regular contributor to the statewide public television program about New York State government, New York Now. She appears on the reporter’s roundtable segment, and interviews newsmakers.
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