The city’s first Mexican-American elected official is endorsing Cynthia Nixon’s bid for governor.
Brooklyn City Councilman Carlos Menchaca said Monday that he supports Nixon because of her support of “immigrants, people of color and the working class across our state.”
Menchaca noted how Nixon, who is challenging Gov. Cuomo in the Democratic primary, held a press conference outside the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Syracuse calling for driver’s licenses for everyone in the state, including undocumented immigrants.
Cuomo has not backed the plan and has left it up to local counties to handle.
That policy position “puts thousands of immigrants needlessly in the crosshairs of ICE,” Menchaca said.
Cuomo has threatened to sue ICE if it continues raids in New York on public grounds.
But Nixon says more needs to be done. She has also called for a series of policy changes, including ordering the Department of Criminal Justice to stop sharing its fingerprint database with ICE to protect undocumented immigrants.
Cuomo should also demand the Department of Corrections stop honoring detainer requests from ICE, according to Nixon. He additionally should order the Department of Motor Vehicles to stop sharing biographical information like addresses with the federal agency.
Menchaca represents Sunset Park, Red Hook and Greenwood Heights, as well as portions of Borough Park, Dyker Heights and Windsor Terrace.
He’s also Brooklyn’s first openly gay City Council member.
Cuomo still has strong support among Hispanic lawmakers. He has traveled to Puerto Rico three times to check on hurricane relief and is backed by Rep. Nydia Velazquez, whose district includes parts of Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan.
