By Ava Dela Pena
Susan Gottehrer first became interested in the New York Civil Liberties Union as a teenager. When she read about injustices in local newspapers, “it was like, ‘NYCLU to the rescue,’” recalled the now 61-year-old.
As director of the Hempstead-based Nassau County office of the NYCLU, Gottehrer finds it more pressing than ever to “come to the rescue,” especially when it comes to immigrant rights. “The lack of humanity in the way that we approach immigrant communities is disgusting,” she said. “I come from a family affected by the Holocaust. I understand the concept of ‘othering.’”
In March, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican from Atlantic Beach, announced Nassau County police would partner with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, making it “the first county in America to have a fully comprehensive agreement with ICE under the 287(g) program.”
The 287(g) program authorizes ICE to oversee and delegate state and local law enforcement to perform specific functions of immigration officers under three models:
• The jail enforcement model, used to identify undocumented immigrants with criminal charges.
• The task force model, which allows law enforcement to perform immigration duties.
• The warrant service officer model, which permits law enforcement officers to serve and execute administrative warrants on undocumented immigrants.
Blakeman has said county detectives would only cooperate with ICE in arresting known criminal suspects.
Still, Gottehrer sees the program as one that will not only negatively affect the immigrant community, but also one that will deteriorate Long Islanders’ relationship with law enforcement. “When the public cannot trust the police—meaning the immigrant communities—then that makes all of Nassau County less safe,” she noted.
Gottehrer spoke on the rising concern in Long Island’s immigrant community, particularly the undocumented community. She said she has witnessed the worry that many feel heading to work, sending their children to school or just leaving their homes.
“There’s fear right now, and nobody should ever have to live like that,” she said.
Gottehrer expressed doubt any immigrant living in such fear would seek the help of law enforcement. “You can bet [many] are not going be reporting crimes,” she said. “If they themselves need help from law enforcement, then they’re not going to trust it, and that creates a situation where no one is safe.
“The police can say all they want ‘we’re not going to ask for your status,’ but when they make a 287(g) agreement, why would anyone trust them?” she added.
“There’s a fear right now, and nobody should ever have to live like that.”
Susan Gottehrer, Director, Nassau County office of the New York Civil Liberties Union
To oppose Blakeman’s pledge to work with ICE, the NYCLU is advocating for the New York For All Act. According to the NYCLU, the legislation would prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies “from colluding with ICE, disclosing sensitive information and diverting personnel or other resources to further federal immigration enforcement.”
According to the State Senate bill 2235, the legislation, if enacted, would:
• Prohibit and regulate the discovery and disclosure of immigration status.
• Prohibit police officers, peace officers, school resource officers, probation agencies, state entities, state employees and municipal corporations from questioning individuals about their citizenship or immigration status.
• Regulate the disclosure of information relating to immigration status.
The Assembly version of the measure is bill number A3506.
In January, the bill was referred to the Senate and Assembly Codes committees, where it has sat since. The measure must pass through committee before it can be brought to the full Legislature for debate and a potential vote. Finally, Governor Hochul must sign it.
Regardless of whether New York for All were to pass, Gottehrer pointed out that immigration falls under civil law, not criminal law, and local police thus should not be involved in immigration enforcement. “ICE is going do its job. There’s nothing we can do about that,” Gottehrer said. “But federal jurisdiction is over immigration. Local jurisdiction is over criminal law.”
Though the NYCLU has sought to pass the New York for All Act since 2018, this year the organization is trying harder than ever to convince elected leaders how “unsafe” 287(g) agreements are. On March 20, multiple activist groups, including the NYCLU, joined more than 50 demonstrators in Hauppauge to rally in support of the act.
In the meantime, the NYCLU is concerned with educating immigrants about their rights. The organization has held a number of “Know Your Rights” workshops to inform immigrants on how to tell the difference between administrative and judicial warrants and how to identify different law enforcement agencies.
“At Know Your Rights workshops, we teach immigrants what a judicial warrant looks like,” Gottehrer said. “An administrative warrant is really just a document that ICE has issued. It’s not backed by the constitutionality of due process or a judge. Immigrants have the right to say, ‘That is not a judicial warrant, leave me alone.’”
“If you’re new to the country or if there’s a language barrier, you may not know the different levels of government,” she said.
The NYCLU is also conducting trainings in immigrant communities to identify different law enforcement officers, not only so they can protect themselves, but also so they can alert the organization to any potential ICE activity in Nassau. According to Gottehrer, the NYCLU has been mapping reported activity across Long Island while working within a coalition of other activist organizations.
Ultimately, Gottehrer said, she wants to ensure through her work with the NYCLU that no one lives in fear. “There’s a lot of misinformation and demonization going on,” she said. “It’s historically where our nation has gone to over and over again: to demonize people from ‘the outside.’”
