Cuomo Signs ‘Standby Guardian’ Bill For Immigrant Children

NEW YORK (AP) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed legislation that allows immigrant parents to designate a "standby guardian" for their children if the parent is detained in New York or faces deportation.

The Democrat signed the legislation at a community college in the Bronx on Wednesday, a day after a federal judge ordered immigrant families separated at the border to be reunited.

The measure passed by the state Legislature last week changes wording in a law that allows a parent to designate a guardian should the parent become incapacitated. The new law allows a standby guardian's authority to immediately begin when a child is separated from a parent.

Cuomo says the law is designed to offer increased protections for children separated from their parents as a result of the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance" policy.