Message
I’m writing to urge you to pass five pieces of legislation that would protect immigrant New Yorkers, make our criminal legal system more just, strengthen our democracy, and help people access health care, including abortion care.
At the same time, you must vote down a so-called “privacy bill” that would instead put all New Yorkers’ intimate information at risk.
1. Pass the New York for All Act
ICE has pressured local law enforcement and government agencies to help search for, arrest, and deport people. This has made many immigrants scared that something as simple as a traffic stop could have life-shattering consequences. The New York for All Act – S.987 (Gounardes) / A.5686 (Reyes) – would keep our state out of ICE's viciousness by preventing local governments, law enforcement, and state entities and employees from working with the agency.
2. Pass the Clean Slate Act
More than two million New Yorkers have permanent criminal convictions that function as a scarlet letter, preventing them from accessing many of the necessities of life including housing and employment. This is morally wrong and doesn’t make us safer. The Clean Slate Act – S.211A (Myrie) / A.1029A (Cruz) – provides automatic record sealing after three years post-incarceration for misdemeanors and seven years post-incarceration for felonies.
3. Pass protections for youth facing police interrogation
All people, no matter their age, should have a clear understanding of their rights when they’re under interrogation by police. But – as the story of the Exonerated Five (also known as the Central Park Five) shows – young people are especially susceptible to giving false confessions. The Youth Interrogation bill – S.1099 (Bailey) / A.1963 (Joyner) – would protect New York’s children from coerced confessions by requiring a child under the age of 18 speak with an attorney before any police questioning.
4. Pass the Jury of Our Peers Act
Americans are guaranteed the right to be judged by a jury of our peers if we’re accused of a crime. But in New York, actually facing a jury of our peers is nearly impossible. State law permanently disqualifies people convicted of felonies from serving on a jury. Because of New York’s history of over-policing, prosecuting, and incarcerating people of color, the jury ban disproportionately bars people of color from jury service. The Jury of Our Peers Act – S.206A (Cleare) /A.1432A (Aubry) – would end this unjust ban and allow people to serve on a jury after release from incarceration.
5. Improve Hospital Transparency
Whether they know it or not, patients in regions throughout the state lack access to reproductive health care, end-of-life care, gender-affirming care, and other types of sensitive health services. A bill in the legislature – S.1003A (Hinchey) / A.733A (Rozic) – will provide New Yorkers with the tools to determine whether their local hospital provides the care they need. The legislation will also help the state identify health care deserts where particular services are completely unavailable.
6. Reject the New York Privacy Act
The misleadingly titled “New York Privacy Act” – S.365-A (Thomas) / A.7423 (Rozic) – is a gift to the surveillance industry which feeds off personal data online. The bill will do little to curb companies’ ability to gobble up our data and use it for profit. And it will do nothing to protect the rights of New Yorkers – including people of color, LGBTQ people, and even those seeking abortion care – whose intimate life details are harvested by these companies every day.
I’m counting on you to take these six critical actions now.
