Rochester’s top Democrats have nothing to say while immigrants are detained, deported, and disappeared.

[This essay was originally published at Rachel Barnhart’s Substack on April 9, 2025]

Mayor Malik Evans would rather talk about anything else.

At a recent press conference, Evans awkwardly confirmed that Rochester police officers helped Border Patrol detain undocumented immigrants—violating the city’s sanctuary policy. One got the distinct impression he doesn’t truly embrace sanctuary protections.

And when Trump’s border czar Tom Homan attacked the city’s sanctuary policy—threatening to come to Rochester—Evans said nothing.

But he couldn’t avoid the topic forever. At a separate event announcing the Party in the Park concert series, WHEC’s Brett Davidsen cornered him. In a cringe-worthy exchange, Evans called Davidsen a “hack” and refused to address Homan’s threats or immigration enforcement. The video makes Evans look feckless, dissembling, and cowardly.1

This was a missed opportunity—Evans could have stood up for Rochester and its immigrant communities. Homan is the architect of Trump’s mass deportation regime. His policies have sent innocent men to Salvadoran prisons—possibly for life. College students have disappeared presumably for their politics. Families have been torn apart. Children handcuffed and locked in cells for days.

Why is it so hard to say: “Hey Tom Homan, in Rochester we defend our residents. We defend workers. We defend families. You’re not welcome here.”2

I hope his opponents will.3

Joe Morelle

Another politician who should be up in arms about Tom Homan threatening to come to Rochester and intimidate immigrant communities is Congressman Joe Morelle.

But if you do a Google News search for “Joe Morelle” and “immigration” or “Tom Homan” from the last month, you’ll come up empty. Same story on X: nothing.

The one exception? WROC managed to catch him at a public event, where he offered this lukewarm comment:

“We need to have border security. We need to make sure that people come into this country that we know about and that they go through the proper procedures. So far that hasn’t happened, and we’ve seen a number of questionable people be detained. And we continue to ask.”

That interview was on March 30—well into Tom Homan’s reign of terror. At best, it’s a mild concern about transparency. At worst, it validates the idea that our community should fear “questionable people” among us.

Meanwhile, if you search for Joe Morelle and the Laken Riley Act, you’ll find plenty.

Morelle was one of the House Democrats who broke ranks to vote for the bill—a bill that would allow immigrants to be detained without bond simply for being charged with a crime, including the petty offense of shoplifting. Not convicted. Charged. It creates a system where immigrants—even legal ones—could be locked up indefinitely or deported, all without due process.

Lately, Morelle has made voting rights a centerpiece of his messaging. That’s important. But I’d argue a country where immigrants can be disappeared into a foreign gulag—and where a president muses openly about doing the same to citizens—is just as big of a threat to democracy.

Adam Bello

County Executive Adam Bello has said even less about immigration under Trump than either Evans or Morelle.

He could have joined the Democratic Caucus in supporting our resolution affirming constitutional principles, including due process and free speech. He could have signed on and coordinated with us to show solidarity. Instead, he chose to stay quiet in the background.

Bello has also remained silent about two of his top allies—Deputy County Executive Jeff McCann and Sheriff Todd Baxter—accepting the Conservative Party line for their respective campaigns this fall. Baxter, whose office is facing mounting calls for transparency over its cooperation with ICE, hasn’t heard a public peep from Bello. Not even a request for answers.

I suspect Bello’s silence about Homan has more to do with protecting McCann’s candidacy in Greece. Republicans are already fear-mongering that McCann would turn Greece into a “sanctuary town”—a laughable claim. Bello and McCann appear to believe the path to victory is veering right. That’s likely why they sold out for the Conservative endorsement in the first place.

Maybe the real reason Bello isn’t standing up to Homan is that he doesn’t fundamentally disagree with him. Let’s not forget: when fewer than 100 asylum seekers arrived in Rochester, Bello called in the National Guard.

Whatever the reason, Bello, Evans, and Morelle clearly believe it’s bad politics to take on Homan—despite polls showing most Americans oppose these inhumane immigration tactics. I’ve heard the theory that they’re trying not to draw attention to Rochester, in hopes of keeping ICE away. But that’s a convenient excuse—one that doesn’t hold up when immigrants are being detained, disappeared, and deported right here, every week.

The only thing we know for sure is this: they’re not leading. They’re hiding. And that is what puts our community in danger.

1 I am seeing people defend Evans because of the poor job WHEC did on its interview with Homan yesterday, which prompted Davidsen to seek out Evans for a response. I sent an email to WHEC this morning complaining that it was wrong to platform Homan without any other voices. But that doesn’t excuse Evans not taking the opportunity to provide that balance and hit Homan back hard.

2 Contrast Evans to Albany’s mayor.

3 I am helping Mary Lupien’s campaign. I’m cohosting a fundraiser tomorrow – April 10.