Cuomo, AG pledge help to immigrants affected by Trump ban

ALBANY - Gov. Andrew Cuomo launched a state hotline Sunday to assist immigrants affected by President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration, vowing legal assistance to anyone facing detainment.

Cuomo and Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye said between six and eight people remained detained Sunday afternoon at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens under Trump's order, which temporarily barred citizens from seven Muslim-heavy nations from entering the U.S.

The governor said attorneys in his office will be available to provide counsel to the detained immigrants and their families. State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has pledged similar assistance.

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► Judge blocks part of Trump immigration ban

In Manhattan on Sunday, Cuomo, a Democrat, spoke out against policies targeting immigrants, touting the state's large immigrant population and vowing to help protect their rights.

The state hotline can be reached at 1-888-769-7243, according to Cuomo.

"We are probably the most diverse state on the globe and it is the essence of who we are," Cuomo said. "And we have no tolerance for intolerance, period. And that’s what we’re going to stand up to say."

Trump's recent order fulfilled a campaign pledge, touting it as an effort to combat terrorism in the U.S. The order itself cites the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks and says the seven-nation ban is meant to ensure "those admitted to this country do not bear hostile attitudes toward it and its founding principles."

State officials on Sunday continued to grapple with the effects of Trump's order, which spurred protests at airports across the nation, including a few thousand at JFK Saturday night.

The State University of New York system's 64 campuses have 320 students from the seven countries in Trump's order, according to SUNY.

SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher and board chairman Carl McCall said Sunday the public university system is "surveying its campuses to determine the impact" and pledged support to any students impacted.

Cuomo counsel Alphonso David said the hotline will be available to family and friends wishing to discretely alert state authorities of any immigrant returning to the New York from the seven countries in Trump's order.

Those countries, which are majority Muslim, are Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.

David said the state wouldn't release any information provided to the hotline absent a court order.

Foye, meanwhile, accused the federal government of having a "choke hold" on information about those detained at JFK, despite a court order late Saturday that temporarily blocked part of Trump's order.  He and state officials remained unsure exactly how many were still detained by mid-afternoon Sunday.

Cuomo said he's "cautiously optimistic" those who are detained will be released.

Schneiderman, also a Democrat, joined with 15 other Democratic attorneys general on Sunday to speak out against Trump's order, calling it "unconstitutional."

"We are confident that the Executive Order will ultimately be struck down by the courts," the attorneys general said in a joint statement. "In the meantime, we are committed to working to ensure that as few people as possible suffer from the chaotic situation that it has created.”