Republican candidate for Westchester County executive calls for end to Immigration Protection Act
Christine Sculti, the Republican candidate for Westchester County executive, called for the repeal of the county’s Immigration Protection Act that passed in 2018 – claiming that it makes Westchester a “sanctuary county.”
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Christine Sculti, the Republican candidate for Westchester County executive, called for the repeal of the county’s Immigration Protection Act that passed in 2018 – claiming that it makes Westchester a “sanctuary county.”
"The law blocks the correctional and law enforcement officials and officials from sharing information with ICE," Sculti said during a news conference Westchester County Jail in Valhalla.
County Spokeswoman Catherine Cioffi said Westchester "fully complies with the law." She said the county's Immigration Protection Act doesn't create a sanctuary for anyone and accused Sculti of fearmongering.
Karin Anderson Ponzer, an official at an immigrant advocacy group called Neighbors Link, agreed that the county doesn't have a sanctuary law.
"The term sanctuary is highly politicized and that's why I stay away from it," Ponzer said.
Instead, Ponzer said she's using the opportunity to encourage people to know the difference between the two policies.
"It's very important that county officials understand what their roles [are], and that is to enforce these laws, rather than getting pulled into federal, civil immigration enforcement, which is funded by the federal government and the federal government is fully empowered to that," Ponzer said.
