The following statement may be attributed to John Santos, Vice President of 32BJ SEIU Hudson Valley:

“County Executive Astorino’s new Executive Order on undocumented immigrants offers no new protections and just creates a smokescreen to obscure the fact that he vetoed the Immigrant Protection Act, a law that would improve the safety of everyone by protecting immigrants’ rights. County residents need The Immigrant Protection Act because the Trump administration has cracked down on immigrants with absolute and terrifying indiscretion.

“Over the past eight months, arrests of undocumented immigrants with no criminal record have soared by 150 percent. The Immigrant Protection Act ensures that immigrants will not be afraid to cooperate with local authorities, and publicly recommits local officials to their duty to treat all residents equally. We call on the Board of Legislators to do the right thing for the safety of all county residents on Monday — and to stand tall in the face of legally suspect threats from the bullying Trump administration — by voting to override County Executive Astorino’s veto of the Westchester Immigrant Protection Act.”

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With more than 163,000 members in 11 states and Washington DC, including 4,000 members in the Hudson Valley, 32BJ is the largest building service workers union in the country.