President Trump's immigration crackdown is coming to every town. This week, agents raided two nail salons in Potsdam, a home in Colton, and a home in Hanua Falls. Since January, we've heard of people being detained in Tupper Lake, Brazier Falls, Glens Falls, Sackets Harbor, Lisbon. You name it. The most recent raids in Potsdam included officers from the St. Lawrence County Sheriff's Office.
raising questions of whether our local law enforcement is supposed to help federal agents find people in the country illegally. A recent arrest near Albany has brought that debate to lawmakers in the state capitol. That's today's story of the day. Support for Story of the Day comes from Pearsall Wealth Management at UBS Wealth Management USA. Subsidiary UBS AG. Member FINRA SIPC. One Broad Street, Glens Falls.
Hey, I'm David Summerstein. It's Thursday, June 12th. First up, a bill that would wean New York's heat and utility systems off fossil fuels is getting rebranded. Lawmakers say changing some policies in the bill could help it get passed in Albany. Jung Yoon Han reports for the New York Public News Network.
Lawmakers are now rallying behind the Customer Savings and Reliability Act. It's a bill that disincentivizes new gas hookups. And climate advocates say the bill would make utilities cheaper for low and middle income New Yorkers. and help the state phase out fossil fuels and meet its environmental goals. The bill is a rebrand from the New York Heat Act, which state Democrats have been pushing to pass for years. Lawmakers said the last-minute revamp keeps the core
climate goals from the original bill while addressing mandates on energy transition processes that drew pushback. Lawmakers head for recess in less than a week. In Albany, I'm Jung Yoon Han for the New York Public News Network. A land trust based in Essex County is finalizing the purchase of a nearly 700-acre camp in the Adirondacks. The Adirondack Explorer reports that Champlain Area Trails, known as CATS, recently bought the Twin Valleys Outdoor Education.
Center in Lewis from SUNY Plattsburgh. The college has used the camp for educational studies since 1945, but its usage has declined over the years. The property features several lodges, a pond, and 15 miles of hiking trails. It sold for $1.1 million. The trust is raising an additional $450,000 to operate the camp and will now decide how to use the space. Katz says it hopes to expand the recreational opportunities by connecting the hike. with others east of the Twin Valleys.
Federal immigration authorities are ramping up their activity across the U.S. and in the North Country. President Trump's advisor, Stephen Miller, says he wants to see 3,000 people detained and deported every day, an unheard of number. to now. That means ICE and Homeland Security will need the cooperation of local police officers to get numbers like that. In a capital region suburb, two people accused of stealing groceries earlier this year are now facing deportation.
As Jimmy Veilkind reports, their arrest highlights the consequences when local police cooperate with federal immigration agents. It started as a routine police call for shoplifting. 1400 Altamont Avenue, the Hannaford. We have a Hispanic couple with a stroller loaded up with merchandise. Officers in Rotterdam, a town of about 30,000 outside Schenectady, found two people in the cramped security office of a local grocery store one morning this March. Staff said the suspects, Michael and Maria,
took things like rice, beans, bread, and olive oil. They hid them under a stroller carrying Maria's child. The total value was $159. But a relatively minor charge escalated when officers checked Michael's ID. You are? In his country. He's a police officer. He provided an expired ID showing he was a police officer in Nicaragua. People are often ticketed rather than arrested when accused of shoplifting. Police only take suspects in if they can't verify their identity.
I'm kind of torn as to... The patrol officer called his supervisor. A detective called ICE. because this guy's got the police ID and stuff. He said, he goes, don't do anything with them until I call you back. What you just heard is one of the first known cases under the federal Lake and Riley Act in New York State. President Trump signed it into law earlier this year. The Department of Homeland Security will be required to detain all illegal aliens who have been arrested for theft, burglary.
larcity, shoplifting, assaulting a police officer, murder. But according to Lauren DeRosier, who runs the Immigration Clinic at Albany Law School, the statute only places requirements on federal officers who learn about arrests. it doesn't require local police departments to call ICE. I think it's a very sad case, and I think that it demonstrates how quickly things can escalate for people who don't have immigration status.
She supports state legislation called the New York for All Act. The bill would let local police help ICE with serious felony offenses or a judicial warrant. But if ICE just issued a detainer request, like with Michael and Maria, police would have to stand down. We're going to pass New York for all together. Thank you. Shut it down! Hundreds of people keep coming to the state capitol to demonstrate in support of the legislation.
which would basically make New York a sanctuary state. Here's Bronx Assemblymember Amanda Septimo at a recent rally. to resist. Proponents are still pushing for some kind of action in the final days of Albany's lawmaking session. But top Democratic leaders, including Governor Kathy Hochul, haven't signed on.
Hookah was trying to walk a fine line on immigration cooperation. I want to make sure we get rid of people who are seriously committing crimes, but leave the rest alone. They already made it here. They're part of our family. And this is where it's a huge divide. The Trump administration is cracking down on sanctuary jurisdictions, and Hochul will testify before Congress later this week about New York's immigration policies. In Albany.
GOP lawmakers support a bill that would require local police departments to call ICE if they arrest an undocumented immigrant. State Senator Andrew Lanza represents Staten Island. He says departments who don't call are essentially obstructing justice. Sanctuary state means we're not complying with federal law. He renamed his state bill after the Lake and Riley law. If an immigrant already broke the law to enter the U.S.
Lanza says any subsequent offense is worse. To me, it's even more egregious. You have somebody that not only broke into the country, but now you're committing crime. For now, municipalities around New York State have a hodgepodge of rules. Rotterdam police leaders say they don't have a specific policy on dealing with non-citizens. But in the case of Michael and Maria, they proactively call ICE. Officers took Michael back to the station without incident.
They charged him with shoplifting and endangering the welfare of a child because Maria's three-year-old daughter was with the couple at the grocery store. But the arrest took a turn when officers handed Michael over to federal agents. Surveillance footage shows he slipped out of his handcuffs and tried to walk away. Hold on. My hand's right there. Six federal and local police officers used the taser to rearrest Michael.
Court records allege an ICE agent suffered a bruised jaw. Michael is charged with assaulting a federal officer. During the scuffle, he kept shouting out in Spanish that he had ID. He says, I have a social security number. Immigration papers. The officers didn't respond. Michael is currently at a jail near Albany.
His federal case is pending, and his lawyer declined to comment. Maria and her daughter first came to Rotterdam in 2023. They were bused to a motel there by New York City officials after immigrating from Colombia. Maria's legal representative declined to comment, but she's now in federal custody without her child. I know we're going to get mommy, I promise.
Body camera footage captures the girl crying in the backseat of a police cruiser as her mother was being processed. Police turned her over to social services. In Rotterdam, I'm Jimmy Vilkind for the New York Public News Network. We have more news all the time on our website, ncpr.org. Music today by Eddie Lawrence of Saranac Lake and Caitlin Scholl of Lake Placid. I'm David Summerstein, North Country Public Radio.