NEW CITY, NY — County Executive Ed Day and County Attorney Thomas Humbach are pleased to announce that Rockland County has successfully fended off a New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) federal lawsuit. The lawsuit claimed that a County of Rockland executive order unconstitutionally barred migrants from traveling to or residing in the county.
In the spring of 2023, County Executive Ed Day issued an Emergency Order in response to the City of New York’s program to establish unlawful city shelters in Rockland County to house migrants and asylum seekers. Within 60 days of the City of New York’s decompression plan surfacing, 38 out of 57 counties and three towns across the state followed Rockland County’s leadership and declared their own states of emergency to protect their constituents from taking on the city’s sanctuary city responsibilities.
“Our Local Emergency Order never barred anyone from coming to the County,” explained County Executive Ed Day. “The only thing this County’s order did was bar Mayor Eric Adams from overstepping his authority by luring people out of New York City with predatory marketing and advertising and turning Rockland hotels into city-run shelters with no regard for law, zoning, or our capacity on hand.”
“On our motion, the court agreed that the case was moot. It became irrelevant when the County Executive clarified it to focus on the real problem, New York City illegally opening a shelter in our County,” explained County Attorney Thomas Humbach. “At that point, there were no grounds for continuing the case.”
As a matter of law, New York City’s public welfare district is responsible for the assistance and care of any person who resides or is found in its territory. The sole objective of the order was to prohibit New York City and other municipalities from establishing shelters in Rockland and forcing their policies, costs, and responsibilities on the county.
“The disputed order’s sole purpose was to mandate good and responsible government and to force New York City to operate within existing laws,” concluded County Attorney Tom Humbach.