Metro Justice and allied community organizations are calling on Monroe County to limit various forms of cooperation with federal immigration agencies.
Metro Justice organizers held a rally Sept. 8 in front of the Monroe County Executive building to launch the Protect Our Neighbors Campaign. The campaign comes in response to an increase in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity both locally and nationwide since January 2025. This also comes after the county approved the $160,000 Operation Stonegarden grant.
Operation Stonegarden is a federal grant program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to use toward enhancing border security and operations. Monroe County
first joined the federal border security grant program in 2009 and has renewed the grant annually.
Despite concerns over how the money will be used, the county said the funds would go toward enhancing border security and operations. The funds will also be used for operational overtime during details for the sheriff's office and the towns of Greece, Irondequoit and Webster.
During the Monroe County Public Safety and Ways and Means committee meeting on July 28, Legislator Sean McCabe described how he supported the grant and said the sheriff's office has made it clear that accepting the grant does not turn Monroe County deputies into ICE agents.
"It does not authorize them to enforce federal immigration law, grant them federal powers or require them to check immigration status," McCabe said.
With the Protect Our Neighbors Campaign, Metro Justice and coalition allies urge the county to uphold the following demands:
- Plug the gaps in state legislation by "banning informal collusion" between Monroe County Sheriff's Office and ICE.
- Ban organizations that receive funding from Monroe County from contracting with federal immigration enforcement.
- Financially divest county resources from corporations and contractors that profit from immigration detention infrastructure.
- End all "elective collusion" with federal immigration agencies not required by state or federal law.
The Democrat and Chronicle reached out to Monroe County and the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services and is awaiting a response.
Luis Torres, president of Metro Justice, said this campaign is a call for leaders to take a clear, courageous stand to make Monroe County safer for all its residents. "Each detention creates a wave of fear and we fight fear with clear commitments and actions," Torres said in a statement.
— Kerria Weaver works as the Government and You reporter for the Democrat and Chronicle, with a focus on how government actions affect communities and neighborhoods in Rochester and in Monroe County. Get in touch at kweaver@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Advocates push Monroe County to restrict ICE ties
