From Trump presidency: New York moves to protect immigrants

NEW YORK: The New York attorney general moved on Thursday to protect immigrants from potential deportation under Donald Trump, issuing a raft of legal advice on the eve of the incoming president's inauguration.

The Republican billionaire, who takes office on Friday, has vowed to immediately deport or jail as many as three million undocumented immigrants with criminal backgrounds, and build a wall on the Mexican border.

His stance has girded liberal politicians into moving to protect immigrants, with Eric Schneiderman, the Democrat attorney general of New York, the fourth most populous state in the country, the latest to act.

New York, which has an estimated population of 19.75 million, ranks second in the country in terms of number of foreign-born workers, according to the state department of labor.



"New York has a long history of welcoming immigrants and embracing diversity. Now, more than ever, we must stand up for our values of inclusion and pluralism," said Schneiderman.

"Public safety relies on trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. No local law enforcement agency should have to undercut that trust just to carry out Donald Trump's draconian immigration policies," he said.

One in five New Yorkers are immigrants, according to the American Immigration Council. The state is one of the most ethnically diverse in the country, and an historic gateway for immigrants from virtually every part of the world.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2017.