US mayor signs executive order barring Buffalo’s cooperation with federal immigration agency

By Yasin Gungor

ISTANBUL (AA) - Sean Ryan, the mayor of Buffalo, New York, signed an executive order establishing the city as a sanctuary jurisdiction by prohibiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement amid President Donald Trump's crackdown.

"No funds, property, equipment, processes, or personnel of the City of Buffalo shall be used to assist or cooperate with any federal civil immigration authority if the basis for such assistance or cooperation is federal civil immigration enforcement," according to the order that was signed Monday.

The directive aims to protect immigrants and maintain community trust by ensuring resources are not used to assist agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), noting it "diverts time, energy, assets, and personnel from critical municipal services."

It prohibits city departments from participating in federal immigration enforcement through formal or informal cooperation agreements and protects due process rights of individuals subject to immigration detainers.

Buffalo employees cannot ask about or collect information on citizenship, immigration status or country of origin when performing work, nor provide federal immigration authorities with database access beyond what is publicly available, the order stated.

City services will be provided "without regard to immigration status," and personnel are barred from conditioning access to programs on proof of citizenship or immigration status, it said.

Buffalo will not hold, detain, transport or transfer custody of anyone "solely based on" citizenship status, immigration detainers, notification requests or administrative warrants, according to the order.

The move comes amid Trump's immigration operations, which resulted in two fatal shootings of Americans in the city of Minneapolis, sparking mass protests.

Sanctuary cities typically limit local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Trump has threatened to immediately halt payments to sanctuary cities as part of his enforcement agenda.