President Donald Trump has been in office for 100 days. WSKG news director Tom Magnarelli spoke with reporters Aurora Berry, Phoebe Taylor-Vuolo, and Natalie Abruzzo, who have been covering the local stories and reactions since Trump's second inauguration.
Here are some of the interview highlights:
Federal immigration enforcement
After Trump’s second term began, ICE arrested a man at the Department of Social Services in downtown Ithaca.
The Trump administration publicly took aim at the Tompkins County sheriff and called for him to be investigated and possibly even prosecuted. That's because the sheriff didn’t hold this person at the county jail so ICE could retrieve him. Legally, that’s not something the county is required to do.
Hundreds of people rallied against ICE activity in the area.
Broome County ended up taking a different approach.
Last month, Broome County Sheriff Fred Akshar announced the county was opting into an ICE program that lets law enforcement agencies assist immigration authorities. That makes the county one of just three in New York state to take part in the program, which lets correctional officers serve immigration warrants to people in the jail.
Akshar said it does not mean that correctional officers are going to be aiding ICE out in the field. But he said he is open to that on a case-by-case basis.
Student visas revoked
At least 21 international SUNY students have had their visas revoked. At Binghamton University, five students lost their visa status, but recently had their visas restored.
Visas were revoked at Cornell too. But some of the most notable immigration impacts have been on international pro-Palestinian activists.
Momodou Taal, an international Cornell graduate student involved in Palestinian rights activism, tried to sue the Trump administration over free speech and due process concerns. But just days after filing the lawsuit, Taal was asked to turn himself in to ICE for detention. Law enforcement showed up at his house.
The judge hearing his federal case said she didn’t have the authority to stop ICE from taking him. Taal later announced he had left the United States and dropped his lawsuit.
Funding cuts, freezes, layoffs
The federal government froze $1 billion for Cornell that was going to be used for national defense, cybersecurity, and health research. There has been other financial troubles at Cornell, including shifting National Institutes of Health funding, and USDA firings.
Some students and staff say it’s fundamentally changed their work. Others described a looming cloud of anxiety as they navigate these changes.
The university instituted a hiring freeze even before the federal funding freeze. That’s set to expire in June.
There were layoffs within the VA Finger Lakes Healthcare System, which includes locations in the Southern Tier, like in Wellsville, Elmira and Bath. It is unclear how many lost their jobs—and which locations had those staffing cuts. It's part of larger staffing cuts across the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
The Steuben County Office for the Aging was set to start a senior companion program that would have provided companionship and even transportation for seniors—plus a small stipend to help out low-income volunteers. But the county put a hold on hiring after Trump issued an executive order to freeze funding for federal grants.
A local Social Security office in Chemung County was at one point slated for closure. Rep. Nick Langworthy says the location will remain open. Local residents have been holding rallies and protests to fight back against any closure of the office.
That's not the only concern in the Elmira-Corning area. Some residents are also worried about the possible cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP food benefits, and Social Security benefits.
