There has been a lot of heated rhetoric lately surrounding Rockland County’s proposed Safety and Dignity for All Act. Unfortunately, much of the public debate has been driven more by fear than by facts.
At its core, the Act is straightforward: it does not stop criminal enforcement, and it does not end cooperation with ICE. It simply requires a judicial warrant before someone can be detained or transferred beyond their lawful release, while ensuring Rockland County remains fully compliant with federal law.
That alone should settle the issue. Yet some Rockland County Republicans and Congressman Mike Lawler continue to attack the legislation by portraying it as something it is not.
The text of the bill is clear. It preserves full cooperation in criminal investigations, including violent crime, terrorism, and felony offenses, and it explicitly complies with federal law, including 8 U.S.C. § 1373.
However, what supporters often fail to explain is an important practical consequence of the policy: once a person’s criminal custody ends — even if that individual was arrested and charged with a felony — the County would not honor a civil ICE detainer or transfer that person to ICE custody without a judicial warrant.
That distinction matters. While criminal enforcement proceeds as normal, the Act restricts voluntary civil immigration enforcement at the point of release. Whether one agrees with that approach or not, leaving it out of the public discussion creates an incomplete and misleading understanding of how the policy would actually operate.
Despite this, opponents repeatedly label the Act a “sanctuary policy.” That claim is simply false.
The Act does not make Rockland County a sanctuary county. It does not prohibit cooperation with ICE when required by law. It does not block the sharing of immigration status information mandated by federal statute. It does not release anyone unlawfully, alter federal immigration law, create new rights to sue the County, or jeopardize federal grant funding.
What the Act actually does is far more limited and responsible. It establishes clear rules requiring judicial oversight before civil immigration detention. It limits voluntary civil immigration enforcement using County personnel and facilities. It clarifies when County resources and data may be used, and it protects confidential, non-public information gathered for County services.
In short, it protects due process, reduces legal risk for County employees, and keeps Rockland County in compliance with the law.
Congressman Lawler and local Republican leaders know this. Yet they continue to frame the Act as a threat to public safety, despite its explicit protections for criminal enforcement and lawful cooperation with federal authorities. That framing appears to be a political choice, not a policy-based one.
Rockland residents deserve an honest conversation. Fear-based messaging may be effective politics, but it is not responsible governance. The Safety and Dignity for All Act is not radical, reckless, or dangerous. It is measured, lawful, and grounded in basic principles of due process.
If our leaders wish to oppose it, they should do so honestly — not by misleading the public about what the law actually says.
— A Rockland County Resident
The views expressed in this letter do not necessarily represent those of Monsey Scoop. Have an opinion you’d like to share? Send it to us for review.
The Rockland County Democratic legislators are downplaying the impact of their proposed law. it’s actually aimed at making Rockland a sanctuary, despite their claims otherwise. They’re not being straightforward about it.
Rockland county legislators, please stop with your lies and bs
Just look at Westchester County. Far from a sanctuary county.
Did Lawler & the Republicans make fuss about it then?
Does Westchester have the same demographics as Rockland, or are they too classy to allow for the influx that has been happening in Rockland? Are the school districts there as significantly imbalanced as the ones in Rockland, where a huge percentage of students are “English as a New Language Learners?”
Very nicely worded. but. …In the wake of all the anti-Ice rhetoric around the country, this brings unwanted and undeserved attention to a law abiding safe county. I remember not too long ago when we didn’t have to worry about unsafe taxis, non-stop accidents, and dwi’s on an almost daily basis. Ask local LEO’S who are so frustrated by the rise in crime. Get the bad elements out. ICE knows how to do their job but if we impede, we will only have ourselves to blame when we lose our status as one of the safest counties in the U. S.
Our Sheriffs and Town police do a very good job with keeping Rockland County safe if not the safest county out there. And yes they work with federal agencies when needed. But to have the federal government overtake policing on our streets??? Why??
No one is asking for the federal government to come in and take over policing. Stop being hyperbolic.
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Thanks for this very clear explanation. It looked to me from the get go that this is simple theatrics and not an issue that Bill Weber has with our safety.
The letter says, “What the Act actually does is…establishes clear rules requiring judicial oversight before civil immigration detention.”
Will any of the progressive Rockland County judges actually rule in favor of deportation? Or will Democrats be able to hide behind a “lack of judicial authority” that their judges won’t grant?
You state
“It does not block the sharing of immigration status information mandated by federal statute.”
Yet if you listen to the full press conference, they clearly say that we need to limit the amount of information we share with the federal government in order to protect them.
I don’t understand the urgency on the part of Democrats to pass this new law. Sounds like political pandering to me. There is a saying “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”. Our county is a safe county no need to bring the ills of Minneapolis here. It seems like local Democrats are trying to mix national politics into our county. They haven’t explained what is the local urgency of passing this law. All this involving judges in determining whether to obtain an ICE detainer for criminal non citizens will just decrease how many violent non citizens are removed from our communities and we will then encounter them on our roads and shopping malls. Remember all these constitutional protections are not meant to be applied to non US citizens. The feds are not going after your cleaning ladies and gardeners, they are going after illegal criminals!
We would like our streets to stay safe of any criminals and if it means ICE removing criminals so be it. We would want a more safer Rockland County not taxi drivers driving like lunatics and don’t care about our traffic laws or safety
FACT:
ICE didn’t make Minneapolis safer — it created chaos and death.
Rockland County chooses safety, not fear.
There’s a reason no police officers showed up to this Republican fear-mongering conference.
Josh here are some facts for you:
ICE didn’t make Minneapolis less safe Democrat politicians did that by instigating law breaking mobs. Remember the summer of BLM 2020? Oh yeh Democrat politicians were behind that as well.
ROCKLAND county is doing just fine and doesn’t need Minneapolis chaos and sanctuary laws.
Stop with the nonsense police didn’t show up. Why involve local police departments in this. They will lose their jobs if they showed up duh