They huffed and they puffed, but eventually, New York City opted to blow Batavia off of its list of defendants to sue for banning undocumented immigrants from seeking shelter in Genesee County.
County Manager Matt Landers had first issued a State of Emergency in May after receiving word that busloads of immigrants were potentially being sent to upstate New York, including Genesee County. Landers followed the move made by Orleans County, and, in dominoes fashion, counties began to react to their neighbors and filed one by one so as not to be the only county left with no protection if and when those immigrants arrived.
County Attorney Jim Wujcik informed legislators Wednesday that the plaintiffs had a change of heart.
“New York City filed for a discontinuance; they’re no longer suing Genesee County,” he said.
The official letter from Assistant Corporation Counsel Doris Bernhardt provided no explanation other than the plaintiff was discontinuing its lawsuit against the county and Landers “without prejudice and without costs to any party.”
Landers filed three executive orders, as he continued to extend the initial one two more times. New York City filed its lawsuit in June against 30 municipalities and was seeking to invalidate those executive orders, claiming that they were unconstitutional and impeded the rights of people who are legally within the borders of the United States as asylum seekers to travel and use public accommodations.
Genesee County has been granted a change of venue in a lawsuit filed by New York City in the Supreme Court of New York County.
In a decision filed Tuesday, “the Court finds that NYC has failed to establish any compelling circumstances as to warrant that venue remain in New York County” in violation of the applicable statutes that mandate the judicial proceeding or action against a county to be in the said county or in the “judicial district where the respondent made the determination complained of.”
Accordingly, it is hereby ordered that the petition is dismissed as against some of the counties involved. However, a motion for a change of venue and to sever has been granted for other counties, including Genesee and County Manager Matt Landers.
"The ruling was on a change of venue, in which we were successful in moving the venue to Genesee County," Landers said Wednesday.
In early June, New York City filed a lawsuit against some 30 upstate municipalities, including Genesee County, seeking to invalidate their executive orders barring undocumented immigrants from entering their locales.
The lawsuit claimed that those emergency orders obstructed New York City’s efforts to relocate migrants in “a manner that is explicitly permitted by law and required by a statewide emergency.”
While this doesn’t dismiss the lawsuit, it will bring the proceedings closer to home.
An emergency executive order that was put in place for Genesee County out of “an abundance of caution” to protect the county doesn't mean that's the end of the discussion, county manager Matt Landers says.
Those orders with potential fines attached for accepting asylum seekers from New York City and beyond were and are an attempt to protect the county.
Now in the face of a lawsuit brought on by New York City against the county and about 30 other municipalities for taking this very action, Landers said that he’s always open to conversation.
“I am fully aware of the crisis that NYS and NYC are facing with the large influx of asylum seekers from the United State’s southern border. My phone line is open, and I am not against having an honest dialogue with anyone on what the capabilities are here in Genesee County,” Landers said Thursday to The Batavian. “Genesee County’s State of Emergency and Emergency Order were put in place out of an abundance of caution to prevent outside municipalities from shifting their burden onto Genesee County without first communicating and consulting with Genesee County officials.
“I want to emphasize that we have not turned anyone away because we have not been contacted,” he said.
He did not specifically address the lawsuit itself, as is typical for legal matters, other than he was not surprised to see it come his way.
Genesee County Manager Matt Landers last month when he issued an executive order banning busloads of undocumented immigrants. Photo by Joanne Beck.
A New York City lawsuit so fresh that Genesee County Manager Matt Landers had yet been able to review the entire scope of it before providing comment Wednesday afternoon hits up 30 upstate municipalities, including Genesee County, seeking to invalidate their executive orders barring undocumented immigrants from entering their locales.
Landers had first issued a State of Emergency on May 17 “out of an abundance of caution” after word had it that busloads of immigrants were potentially being sent this way. Locally it began first with Orleans County, followed by Genesee, and one by one, counties began to jump on board with their own executive orders throughout Western New York and beyond.
Filed on Wednesday, the lawsuit claimed that those emergency orders obstructed NYC’s efforts to relocate migrants “in a manner that is explicitly permitted by law and required by a statewide emergency,” according to a news release.
The lawsuit asks the state Supreme Court to invalidate the emergency orders filed by the counties under the grounds that they are unconstitutional. It also asks to prohibit the locales from taking steps that "restrict or frustrate" New York City's efforts to address a statewide emergency, which Gov. Kathy Hochul declared on May 9.
The lawsuit claims the emergency orders are unconstitutional because the orders seek to impede the rights of people who are legally within the borders of the United States as asylum seekers to travel and use public accommodations. The suit argues that the prohibitions are impermissible because they target people based on their national origin, citizenship, or immigration status, which violates the Constitution.
Moments prior to Landers issuing the county’s State of Emergency in May, the Legislature conducted an executive session to discuss the matter after Orleans County declared its own emergency. That seemed to be the tipping point, Landers had said at the time.
“Well, a lot of it was just meetings with various stakeholders; Orleans County issuing their state of emergency was probably a prompt. Because of that, we took notice of that. There was a lot of speculation that raised our concerns about how easily a group of asylum seekers could end up at our doorstep without us even knowing,” Landers said. “So I guess it was our vulnerability that came to light of how simple and how easy and how fast that could happen, that we wanted to have this in place, in case that were to happen.
“So that was probably some of the prompts that happened throughout the day that caused us to take this action,” he had said.
“This is more to get a better handle on control in Genesee County and have the situation to an abundance of caution to be able to respond to a situation where we're not aware of asylum seekers coming to our community, there’s channels out there, and I do have confidence in the governor's office, through their representative, that they would try to reach out to us if there was a group that was heading to Genesee County, but there's different avenues of which that they can come from and it's not all through the governor's office,” Landers said. “So I am in consultation with the governor's office and, and the representative has been very forthcoming and upfront with me, and I think we've got a great working relationship. But that's only one piece of the puzzle. So the state of emergency is kind of trying to cover multiple scenarios, you know … And, again, we'll evaluate the state of emergency in the next five days and see if we've covered everything, and maybe we strengthen it, modify it, or let it expire.”
The Local State of Emergency was declared for Genesee County due to New York City's program to rapidly increase the number of migrants in this County to unsustainable levels, he had said.
“Pursuant to NYS Executive Law § 24, when a State of Emergency is in effect, the County Manager may promulgate local emergency orders to protect life and property or to bring the emergency situation under control.
Fines were threatened, especially to local hotels and motels that might consider taking in any busloads of immigrants, of up to $2,000 a person.
By the time the county had extended the executive order for the third round, Batavia First Presbyterian Church stepped up and offered to provide comfort in the form of food, clothing and/or shelter for any immigrant in need.
Landers had said that could create issues for the county, and he asked that church leaders reach out to discuss the situation with him.
Landers said that he would respond to The Batavian's request for comment once he was more familiar with the lawsuit.
File image from a video message by the Rev. Roula Alkhouri of Batavia First Presbyterian Church.
On Wednesday, Batavia First Presbyterian Church issued a statement through Rev. Roula Alkhouri about the church being willing to provide care for any undocumented immigrants that show up in Genesee County during this time of a local State of Emergency and related executive order.
The order bans entities such as hotels and motels from taking in busloads of immigrants that arrive here, which is a current fear given talk that downstate New York may be sending immigrants elsewhere, including other parts of New York.
The Batavian asked Alkhouri for clarification about whether the church intended to provide shelter as well as amenities such as food and clothing. She responded with a revised statement Thursday in response to the Genesee County State of Emergency regarding Sustainable Migration.
In short, yes -- shelter is part of the offering.
"We, the spiritual leaders of First Presbyterian Church of Batavia, are very concerned. While we can't solve the country's immigration issues, we are a church that helps people, all people. Our Christian beliefs and mission compel us to show compassion and dignity to all of those in need and don’t believe that should conflict with any laws in our country. By example our church is part of a joint ministry of many churches known as 'Los Samaritanos' which provides support on a regular basis to those who are released from the Buffalo Federal Detention Center here in Batavia," she said. "This help takes the form of providing temporary shelter, food, clothing, and/or transportation. We also provide the same kind of help for those who are in a temporary crisis. We will continue to be to help others, all others, who are in need and thus we will respond as Jesus has taught us, “for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Matthew 25:25-36."
In light of the possibility that this church, or anyone in the county, would potentially provide assistance, Landers expressed his concerns and invited others considering such a move to have a conversation with him before doing so.
2020 File photo of James Spiecher, of Rochester, with his grandson Jaxon looking at a sign in front of Batavia First Presbyterian Church that reads "God Loves Everyone No Exceptions." Church leadership is trying to live up to those words with a promise to care for all, including any undocumented immigrants that show up in Genesee County. Photo by Howard Owens.
As Genesee County prepares to enter its third week of not allowing any undocumented immigrants to enter, per an executive order barring busloads of immigrants expected to leave New York City for upstate, at least one Batavia church has extended a welcoming message.
“We are a church that is open to help people, all people. We know we can’t solve the political problem of immigration. However, our Christian beliefs lead us to show compassion and dignity to those in need,” said the Rev. Roula Alkhouri of Batavia First Presbyterian Church Wednesday. “For us, the help we are prepared to offer is no different than the help we currently offer people that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement release from the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility on a regular basis. Los Samaritanos, a joint ministry of multiple churches, supports those who are released from the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia.
“If the need arises for us to help others, we will respond as Jesus has taught us”:
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me. Matthew 25:25-36
Alkhouri spoke on behalf of the church elders after a meeting this week to discuss the issue that has caused a local and regional State of Emergency and ongoing executive order that is being evaluated five days at a time.
In short, the order may fine anyone that harbors undocumented immigrants and zeroes in on hotels and motels. Law enforcement has been on heightened alert for busloads of visitors to the county.
Because First Presbyterian Church has been involved in the Los Samaritanos program and other civil rights initiatives, The Batavian asked how its leadership and congregants felt about this ongoing immigrant situation.
County Manager Matt Landers issued the local State of Emergency and related executive order on May 15 and has extended it once already. During Wednesday’s county Legislature meeting, he said it was likely that he would extend the order again for five more days at the end of this week.
Landers noted that Genesee County is not alone in its concern, as there are some 22 state counties with similar executive orders also in effect.
During the manager’s initial announcement, he mentioned that the county was already “stretched too thin” to be able to deal with — and pay for — additional people seeking shelter, food and similar amenities.
The county already has a “homeless” problem, he said. The Batavian asked him to clarify that.
“It's currently a challenge in Genesee County because we don't have a homeless shelter. We use our local motels, and they fill up at times, and there's situations where somebody presents as homeless to DSS, and we don't have space for them now. So under those conditions, similar to Orleans County, they specifically did their state of emergency, I believe, because of homelessness,” Landers said. “That is a factor of us not having the resources to take care of our own homeless. So, therefore, we really are not in a position to take on busloads of other homeless."
How many homeless people do we have here? “It’s fluid,” he said. “I do know that at times it is not uncommon that we have to utilize a shelter in Buffalo or Rochester for our own homeless.”
Can others step in to help? As for another organization, in this case, First Presbyterian Church, offering assistance to immigrants, "Genesee County is not in a position to house and handle an influx of asylum seekers," Landers said.
"These individuals need more than just a place to sleep, and any organization that circumvents the County is only doing a disservice to both the people of Genesee County and the asylum seekers," he said. "I welcome any group to reach out to my office to have an open and honest dialogue on the County's capabilities."
Genesee County Manager Matt Landers issues a local State of Emergency for the county Wednesday out of "an abundance of caution" due to threat of undocumented immigrants arriving here from downstate. Photo by Joanne Beck.
Citing “an abundance of caution,” County Manager Matt Landers declared a local state of emergency for Genesee County earlier Wednesday in response to rippling speculations about potential busloads of undocumented immigrants being sent this way from New York City.
One of the last straws — in an untidy political mix of statements about where immigrants should and should not go — was Orleans County’s declaration issued prior to Genesee County on Wednesday, Landers said. That was apparently one of the reasons for an executive session called abruptly after the Ways and Means meeting at the Old County Courthouse.
The private, executive session was called for what Legislator Marianne Clattenburg termed “what happened this afternoon.”
So The Batavian asked, what happened this afternoon?
“Well, a lot of it was just meetings with various stakeholders, Orleans County issuing their state of emergency was probably a prompt. Because of that, we took notice of that, there was a lot of speculation that raised our concerns about how easily a group of asylum seekers could end up at our doorstep without us even knowing,” Landers said. “So I guess it was our vulnerability that came to light of how simple and how easy and how fast that could happen, that we wanted to have this in place, in case that were to happen.
“So that was probably some of the prompts that happened throughout the day that caused us to take this action,” he said.
Congresswoman Claudia Tenney had previously issued a press release opposing a move to send immigrants to upstate SUNY campuses, though that doesn’t seem to be any official step being taken by the state government at this time. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been pushing to move immigrants north.
Landers said that, because Genesee Community College receives both county and state funding, that he isn’t certain whether he would include GCC at some point in the list of entities discouraged from taking in busloads of immigrants during the county’s state of emergency. But for now, he is instead emphasizing hotels and motels.
The Batavian asked if he was aware of two busloads of people dropped off at The Clarion on Wednesday, rumored to be immigrants and news that was shared with us by a Batavian reader. They were confirmed by Sheriff’s Office personnel to be National Guards here for training, Landers said.
“Because it's about doing a good job of being aware. You know, we have contacts throughout the county that are in positions to help give any kind of advanced notification if there was an issue that came to light,” he said. “So there is a heightened awareness for county operations right now.”
State Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a State of Emergency for New York State for similar reasons, and for what Landers believes is to probably try and capture federal government financial resources, “which is understandable,” he said.
“This is more to get a better handle on control in Genesee County, and have the situation to an abundance of caution to be able to respond to a situation where we're not aware of asylum seekers coming to our community, there’s channels out there, and I do have confidence in the governor's office, through their representative, that they would try to reach out to us if there was a group that was heading to Genesee County, but there's different avenues of which that they can come from and it's not all through the governor's office,” Landers said. “So I am in consultation with the governor's office and, and the representative has been very forthcoming and upfront with me, and I think we've got a great working relationship. But that's only one piece of the puzzle. So the state of emergency is kind of trying to cover multiple scenarios, you know … And, again, we'll evaluate the state of emergency in the next five days, and see if we've covered everything, and maybe we strengthen it, modify it, or let it expire.”
The county’s Local State of Emergency was declared for Genesee County, due to New York City's program to rapidly increase the number of migrants in this County to unsustainable levels.
“Pursuant to NYS Executive Law § 24, when a State of Emergency is in effect, the County Manager may promulgate local emergency orders to protect life and property or to bring the emergency situation under control.
By law, upon reconsideration of all the relevant facts and circumstances, such an order may be extended for additional periods not to exceed five days each during the pendency of the state of emergency.
Press release:
Out of an abundance of caution, a local State of Emergency has been put into place by County Manager L. Matthew Landers as of May 17, 2023, in response to New York City’s program to bus migrants and asylum seekers to other counties in New York State. Genesee County is not equipped for a rapid increase of persons in need of services, and if the City of New York or other municipalities were to flood the County with migrants and asylum seekers, the situation would only worsen.
This Local Emergency Order will remain in effect for five days unless sooner modified, extended or revoked. It may be extended for additional periods not to exceed five days during the pendency of the local state of emergency. This order may be referred to as the “Genesee County Sustainable Migration Protocol."
The New York State Senate passed the “Green Light Bill.” State Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer (R-C-I, Amherst) voted against it.
Senator Ranzenhofer has issued the following statement:
“(Monday's) passage of the Green Light Bill is very troubling to me. I do not agree with granting driver’s licenses to those who enter the country illegally. This bill goes too far.
"It provides none of the protections or restrictions found in the 12 other states that issue driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. This is just another example of the misguided priorities of the Senate Majority.
“In my recent questionnaire, nearly 80 percent of residents opposed this radical bill. It is equally disturbing that Senate Democrats ignored concerns of the law enforcement community and local clerks.”
“Instead of incentivizing legal immigration, Albany is once again creating a magnet for outright lawlessness,” Hawley said. “First they offered undocumented immigrants the right to free college tuition, now they offer the privilege of driving.
"This latest proposal jeopardizes the safety of our communities throughout the state. NYC lawmakers continue to place the interests of illegal immigrants ahead of law-abiding, middle-class New Yorkers.
“We are a nation of laws, and these proposals only lead to more giveaways and services for illegal immigrants in our state. In addition, handing out these privileges blurs the lines between law-abiding citizens and those here illegally.
"Rest assured, I will continue to remain steadfast in my commitment to public safety and the rule of law especially in light of the avalanche of proposals endangering New York families in favor of realizing a political agenda."
