After three hard-fought years, the ICE Out of Courts campaign is celebrating the passage of the Protect Our Courts Act during a special session in both chambers of the New York State legislature. This victory was made possible thanks to the hard work and creative thinking of the #ICEOutofCourts Coalition, headed by the NYS Policy team at the Immigrant Defense Project. IDP and the coalition applauded the NYS legislature, as the bill was passed with an overwhelming majority in both chambers, even passing with bipartisan support in the state senate. This legislative win follows two other key #ICEOutofCourts campaign victories: a federal court ruling on June 10, 2020, stating that ICE's practice of courthouse arrests is illegal and the April 2019 implementation of rules by the NYS Office of Court Administration prohibiting ICE arrests inside courthouses without a judicial warrant.

The Protect Our Courts Act will bring very welcome relief for immigrant New Yorkers, who are among the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic and who have had to reckon with the constant and continued threat of ICE presence (including assisting the NYPD at protests). IDP is continuing to monitor the bill as it heads to the Governor’s desk for his signature and will share more updates soon!

To learn more about the fight to rid New York State's courthouses of ICE agents and our victory, check the ICE Out of Courts Coalition website. Also, check out news on the recent victory here:

Help IDP and the ICE Out of Courts Coalition thank our bill co-sponsors, Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages and Senator Brad Hoylman! Share the following message and graphic on social media:

 

Recently, IDP celebrated a huge victory in the passage of the Protect Our Courts Act and celebrates other wins for our Justice Roadmap partners. Despite these, we will continue to advocate for more, broader, change that meets the needs of this current political moment.

With news that the legislature would be returning to session, IDP, alongside our Justice Roadmap partners, campaigned for the passage of five bills:

At a powerful rally and march, we heard family members of Layleen Polanco and Kalief Browder, and immigrant rights, trans rights, and criminal justice organizers from around the New York State call on Albany to pass this legislation immediately. Though the Protect Our Courts Act was a huge victory for IDP and the ICE Out of Courts Coalition, the legislature failed to act on the four other bills. As Justice Roadmap Partners, IDP will continue to press on for these critical policy changes, with the hope that they will bring justice to Black and brown New Yorkers, in addition to shrinking the carceral and punitive state in New York.



In addition to the Protect Our Courts Act, key criminal justice wins included the end of unjust suspension of drivers’ licenses for inability to afford fines and fees (Driven By Justice), the passage of the Proximity Bill to help keep incarcerated parents close to their children, additional oversight in state prisons (Prison Oversight Act), and protections of contact tracing data from access by police and immigration enforcement (Contact Tracing Confidentiality). 

In July, IDP was joined by a new Director of Strategic Initiatives! We were not, however, joined by a new face, as this role has been taken on by former IDP Staff Attorney Lee Wang. We are so excited to welcome Lee back to IDP!

"I couldn't be happier about returning to the IDP family as its first Director of Strategic Initiatives. Over the last year, I served as the founding director of the New York Immigrant Freedom Fund, a program at the Brooklyn Community Bail Fund that has bonded out hundreds of immigrants from detention. I'm thrilled to be continuing the fight back at IDP. The organization holds a special place in my heart because this is where I got my start as an advocate and it has shaped who I am and what I hold dear in so many ways. In my new role, my focus will be on working to push forward the organization's goals in these challenging times and thinking through how to make our long fight for justice sustainable. "