The days are ticking down until the scheduled end of the legislative session in Albany, the first since the opening days of the 2021 session in which the state’s Democratic majority is directly facing a President Donald Trump.

Democratic lawmakers are working to use what time they have left, abbreviated by the latest state budget in 15 years, to put up something resembling a fight against the Trump administration’s sweeping first few months in office.

That fight has largely focused on immigration policy.

“He is going too far,” said Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest Tuesday. “When you go to far, here in New York State, we say hell no.”

But saying "hell no" is easier said than done when pushing back against federal immigration policy at the state level. That hasn’t stopped Democrats from trying.

The effort has come in the form of familiar proposals such as the New York for All Act, which would limit collaboration between New York state and local law enforcement and federal immigration enforcement officials, but lawmakers are also digging deeper, looking for ways to financially wound those who cooperate.

“We can hit them in the pocket book,” said state Sen. Pat Fahy.

Fahy and state Assemblymember Michaelle Solages introduced legislation this month to target airlines that partner with the federal government to transport individuals who have been “detained by U.S. immigration and customs enforcement without being afforded due process rights.”

Right now the primary company carrying out flights in partnership with the feds is airline Avelo. Fahy said she doesn’t believe flights transporting individuals to ICE facilities from New York have actually taken off from New York airports, but Avelo does have a commercial presence at Albany, Rochester, Long Island MacArthur, and Binghamton airports, givng the proposal some teeth.  

The bill would “prospectively” freeze Avelo and any future airlines out of state contracts if the company performs such flights without the presentation of a valid judicial warrant or demonstration that impacted individuals have been provided due process, including right to counsel and an immigration hearing. It would also take away financial incentives like fuel subsidies.

“If they are complicit in ignoring these due process rights, these constitutional rights, they should not be receiving our state fuel tax exemption,” Fahy said.

In response, Avelo said they are aware of the proposal, but not much else.

“Avelo Airlines is proud to offer low airfares and the most reliable scheduled service operation in the country. We will closely monitor the proposed legislation to understand how it may impact our service within the State of New York,” the company told Spectrum News 1 in a statement.

Unsurprisingly, state Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay is not a fan. He accused Democrats of turning to economic warfare too often, citing past legislative efforts targeting Chick-fil-A and Tesla.

“It’s a slippery slope,” he said. “It’s a really dangerous circumstance when you’re using government policy to choose winners and losers based on whatever political ideology you believe in.”

Asked his take on the premise of the bill — targeting what advocates describe as a lack of due process coming from the Trump administration when it comes to immigration policy — Barclay said no one should be surprised by how the administration is conducting itself.

“Trump didn’t hide this when he was running for office. This is what he campaigned on. I think he had a mandate from the public,” he said.

As for the economic precedent Barclay and Republicans have accused Democrats of setting, Solages isn’t concerned.

“What they are doing is visibly showing me they are not a good corporate entity in New York state and we are going to use our legislative authority to push back against them,” she said.