A national debate over an immigration crackdown and sanctuary cities is playing out in various forms Tuesday across Rochester.
President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan arrived shortly before noon to meet with Locust Club members and others at the police union headquarters on Lexington Avenue.
Homan has said he is coming to support Rochester police officers, who came under scrutiny last month when they assisted federal agents in arresting three undocumented immigrants. Rochester is a self-described sanctuary city and RPD policy states that officers will not actively participate in immigration enforcement. Homan did not meet with Police Chief David Smith or RPD command staff.
His visit has provided a focal point for national discussion with dueling rallies and competing and far-ranging messages from elected leaders and activists on everything from border policy to local leadership. And it underscored the differing messages being provided to the city's rank-and-file officers.
"Call me," Homan said in video of his address to the Locust Club, which was posted to Facebook, that included area lawmakers and law enforcement, including some RPD officers in uniform. "I'll do anything I can to support you. That's more than the politicians in a sanctuary city are going to do for you, because you're putting politics over public safety."
His remarks drew applause.
"What we are seeing is distraction, division, distortion," Mayor Malik Evans said, speaking after Homan's visit but not having heard his comments. "We got to stand and make sure that our community is still put together, and that we have unity in our community ... and we will push back against any of the federal nonsense that we get."
During the Tuesday morning commute, motorists on Interstate 490 were greeted by demonstrators on overpasses holding signs that read “Hands off Sanctuary Cities” and “de-I.C.E RPD.”
Dozens of supporters and protestors lined Lexington Avenue awaiting Homan's arrival. Protesters on one side chanted, and hoisted signs, one reading "Free Mahmoud. End ICE Terror," referring to the pro-Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, who is facing deportation. Supporters on the other side lined the temporary barricades fencing the Locust Club property, hoisting Trump and black-and-white American flags with a blue stripe. One carried a sign that read "Chief Smith is a coward."
immigration laws or policies."
In downtown Rochester, a couple of dozen protestors marched along Exchange Boulevard outside RPD headquarters at the Public Safety Building, with signs that read "Bring Them Home," and "Hands off our Democracy."
Another protest is planned for Tuesday evening outside City Hall before City Council's monthly meeting.
All this stems from a traffic stop back in March, when federal Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents pulled over a van on Whitney Street on the city’s west side. A man and his two adult sons inside refused to get out. HSI called for emergency assistance, and responding Rochester police officers threatened to break the van’s window if the men didn’t exit. Officers then handcuffed at least one of the men when they did.
Chief Smith took the involved officers off the street until they completed training on the RPD policy. And he directed similar training for the rest of the department.
RPD’s general orders state that officers will comply with all applicable federal and state laws and “may respond to assist CBP or ICE in situations involving an imminent threat to life or safety.” But it requires that officers “not engage in police activities solely for the purpose of enforcing federal immigration laws or policies.”
The Department of Justice has sued the city, arguing its sanctuary city policies are unlawful. And Homan has falsely claimed that Chief Smith and Mayor Evans took issue with the officers for responding to the call itself, rather than their actions once on scene.
"What happened in Rochester, HSI agents called for emergency assistance, officers of Rochester PD responded ... they responded, then they got disciplined," Homan said Monday, speaking from the podium in the White House briefing room. "Cops need to help cops, especially in an emergency situation, and they got disciplined."
Congressman Joe Morelle, D-Irondequoit, later weighed in, also on Monday, arguing that Homan was using Rochester as “as a prop” to promote what the congressman described as the Trump administration's “inhumane, illegal and antithetical” immigration policies – specifically calling out the recent deportations of U.S.-born children.
Monroe County Republican chairman Pat Reilly issued a statement Tuesday writing that the Republican Party welcomed Homan and the federal lawsuit, continuing: “The people of Monroe County deserve leaders who stand up for our safety and for supporting our law enforcement officers in their time of need, not ones who are obsessed with policies designed to shelter and protect criminals.”
Before speaking at the Locust Club, Homan stopped in Greece. A later post to the town's Facebook account stated that he shared "valuable insight into the evolving challenges facing communities across the country."
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
