Testimony: Protecting New York City from Federal Overreach

Jodi Ziesemer, Policy Director of NYLAG's Immigration Emergency Response, submitted testimony to the New York City Council to underscore the urgent need to implement citywide protections to guard against federal overreach amid heightened immigration enforcement.

Between January and July 2025, nearly 5,000 New Yorkers have been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), more than the entire total of people arrested in 2024. This new enforcement landscape has been marked by chaos and illegal actions by ICE and the Government, making the practice of immigration law challenging and unpredictable. While as of August 2025, there are 340,000 cases currently pending before New York State immigration courts, this number does not capture the full scale of immigration enforcement against New Yorkers, who are being put into expedited removal proceedings, having their immigration cases dismissed before trial, transferred by ICE to other states, and being detained at numbers double those from a year ago.

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As ICE increases its presence and the violence and frequency of raids and arrests in New York City, there will be a consequent increase in federal agents encounters with bystanders, protesters, community members, and city officials. New York City should develop similar processes for collecting reports on potential criminal acts by federal agents committed within New York City and devise a protocol for investigating, and charging criminal acts by federal officials. As we are seeing ICE action across the country, New York City can learn from these incidents and plan in advance of ICE officials making a concerted, targeted effort to attack New York City residents. Through safe reporting methods for violations of law and abuse by any state or federal agent, private rights of action for governmental misconduct, and individual accountability, we can better protect all New Yorkers.

NYLAG's policy recommendations for safeguarding against such overreach include the following:

1. Develop policies and protocol for investigating ICE violence and criminal behavior, NYPD role in protests and bystanders resistance to ICE action.
2. Strengthen NYC sanctuary laws by championing proposed city legislation on accountability.
3. Support City, State, and Federal legislation to End Federal Agents' Use of Identify-Masking Tactics
4. Support New York For ALL Bill - S.2235 (Gounardes) / A3506 (Reyes)

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