9.6.17 – For second day, Felder offers no comment on Trump’s immigration policies

On the morning of 9.6.17, John V. Santore, a 17th Senate District constituent, sent the following email to Sen. Felder’s office:

I’d like to know if Mr. Felder has expressed any opinions on President Trump’s DACA decision, and/or any thoughts on how it will impact his constituents specifically, or New Yorkers generally.

On a related note, I’d like to know if Mr. Felder has expressed any opinions on any immigration policy enacted or promoted by the Trump administration, such as Mr. Trump’s executive orders banning immigration from select nations, Trump’s support for the RAISE Act, which would limit legal immigration into the country, or the expansion of ICE arrests since Mr. Trump took office. In addition to general comments on these policies, does Mr. Felder believe they have any impact on his constituents specifically, or New Yorkers generally, and if so, what is that impact?

I understand these are federal policies, not state policies, but obviously federal law routinely impacts New Yorkers. In such situations, I believe it is important for state legislators to have clearly articulated positions concerning the policies in question.

No response was received by the close of business on 9.6.17. The day before, Santore also requested a statement from Felder on President Trump’s DACA announcement, and did not receive a response.

Background: Felder and the Trump administration 

Mr. Felder has seldom commented publicly on the Trump administration in any capacity.

In response to news that one of his staffers passed along a fake story claiming the man who allegedly killed Heather Heyer, 32, in Charlottsville, Virginia was a Democratic operative, Mr. Felder told the New York Daily News that he didn’t approve the staffer’s statement.

“I, as well as any decent human being, deplore any form of racism, Nazism, anti-Semitism and white supremacists,” he said, adding, “I was also upset by some of Trump’s comments [after the Charlottsville violence], but I don’t think he should be impeached.”

Felder’s statements regarding Trump, however, have been rare. For example, from the beginning of 2017 through 9.6.17, Mr. Felder tweeted 33 times from his official Twitter account (@NYSenatorFelder). Of those, 19 tweets concerned Felder’s successful opposition to New York City’s five cent fee on plastic bags, passed by the New York City Council in 2016 and overturned by the NY State legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2017. None of Felder’s tweets mentioned Trump or his policies.

Similarly, from the beginning of 2017 through 9.6.17, Felder’s blog included 11 posts, of which six were about the bag fee. Again, none mentioned Trump or his policies.

Since Trump’s election, Felder’s blog has mentioned Trump in just two posts. The first post, written on Dec. 1, 2016, criticized protests following the president’s election.

“The assembly we’ve seen on the streets following the recent election is far from peaceful,” Felder wrote. “What we’ve witnessed is neither a Martin Luther King Jr. nor Ghandi-esque attempt to bring peaceful and respectful attention to a matter that some feel needs redress. What we’ve seen is chaos.”

“But thugs will be thugs,” the blog post also read. “The behavior we’ve seen has not been limited to mere words, but has also encompassed assaults and destruction of property; burnings of flags and lootings of stores. The very people who claim to fear that Donald Trump will destroy America seem eager to do that job themselves.”

The second post, written on Dec. 21, aimed to explain Felder’s decision to caucus with the Republican Party, despite having run unopposed on the Democratic ticket (as well as the Republican and Conservative Party tickets).

In the post, Felder said his decision to caucus with Republicans had “nothing to do with President-Elect Trump.” He also discussed a March protest outside his office led by local progressive Jewish residents. As Felder wrote:

A handful of the petitioners remained outside the Senator’s office on Avenue J where they held up their signs “Jews Against Trump.” This prompted others on the Avenue to admonish the protestors. “This is outrageous,” said one woman. “I’m a Jew who is for Trump, and what you’re doing is disgusting.”

– Posted by John V. Santore