GOSHEN – The Rules Committee of the Orange County Legislature has unanimously approved a resolution opposing a proposed ICE immigration processing and/or detention center in the Town of Newburgh.
The measure now heads to the full legislature for a vote next month.
Democratic Caucus Leader Genesis Ramos said the opposition “is rooted in a federal government that continues to undermine local communities by advancing major decisions without transparency, meaningful local input, or respect for any other level of government.”
Ramos said her opposition is also rooted “in the rogue, out-of-control conduct of ICE as an agency, and I am unequivocal about that.”
Ramos said under federal law, the county cannot block the federal government from contracting with a private property owner to operate a facility or enact a moratorium. “But limited legal authority does not mean silence,” she said. “It means using every tool we do have, including unanimous bipartisan action, public pressure, and a united county voice to demand that DHS abandon this proposal.”
She noted the legal authority rests on the Town of Newburgh government.
Earlier this year, Homeland Security abandoned a proposal to local a facility in the Town of Chester because of the public outcry.
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