The Indypendent e-news
June 2, 2011
After a day of rumors that New York state may pull out of Pres. Obama’s flagship immigration enforcement program, Gov. Andrew Cuomo made it official this afternoon.
“There are concerns about the implementation of [Secure Communities] as well as its impact on families, immigrant communities and law enforcement in New York,” Cuomo said in a press release. “As a result, New York is suspending its participation in the program.”
Cuomo also sent a letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), alerting them of the suspension. It noted his administration had “received numerous complaints and questions about the purpose and implementation” of the program and said the “greatest concern is that instead of targeting dangerous criminals it is “compromising public safety by deterring witnesses to crime and others from working with law enforcement.”
Thirty-five counties in New York joined the program when New York quietly opted-in last May. Now they will no longer automatically allow ICE to access fingerprint and other arrest data from their local jails. New York City and the rest of the state’s 62 counties have yet to participate in Secure Communities.
Just last December, NYPD Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly raised his concerns with the program. “We want people to feel free to contact the police, to walk into police stations; communicate with the police. To the extent that [Secure Communities] may have some effect on that, that’s problematic.”
The move could be a major blow to ICE’s plan to implement Secure Communities nationwide by next year, a spread that some New York lawmakers said they hope to stop. Congressmember Nydia Velásquez (D-NY) said Cuomo had, “done the right thing. I look forward to working with him to address this issue at the national level.”
New York is the third jurisdiction to stop Secure Communities after it was activated. It joins Washington, D.C. and Illinois. Two states – Washington and Minnesota – have declined to join the program.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus has asked Obama to freeze the program while a federal investigation is pending. ICE Inspector General Charles Edwards said he is planning a review “to determine the extent to which ICE uses the program to identify and remove dangerous criminal aliens from the United States.”
Since 2008 Congress has spent millions for Secure Communities to target dangerous “criminal aliens.” Deportations are at a record high, but most of those removed are innocent or low-level offenders who have served their time.
This article was originally published on Deportation Nation.
Comments
Those legislators and elected officials who don't oppose illegal immigration will be vividly remembered by the growing TEA PARTY membership. If we used zero tolerance policies to remove illegal aliens from America, it would save us trillions of dollars in the years ahead. Each of the thousands of TEA PARTY cells will be looking to oust those who have pushed our country into this financial chaos. Governors such as Andrew Cuomo called the “architect or ruin”, which had much to do with the real estate collapse and low income and illegal immigrant mortgages. Such Mayors as Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles, for evasion of implementing E-Verify and Secure Communities, in exposing foreign nations in the workplace and criminal aliens through a ICE fingerprinting. A new poll conducted by Rasmussen found that 82% of likely voters think businesses should be required to use E-Verify. Because of the incompetence of the major parties the border fence is incomplete (NOT COMPARABLE TO THE 2006 Secure Fence Act) and the 1986 Simpson-Mazzoli immigration laws not enforced.
New York like so many other States are going it alone, to protect their own residents from economic illegal aliens. Then you have Andrew Cuomo who is opting out of policing laws such as Secure Communities, that is a resonating signal for parasitic economic illegal aliens to quickly arrive there.
The House of Representatives is debating and voting on amendments to the 2012 Homeland Security spending bill. Several immigration amendments will be offered and receive votes. It will be the first votes cast on immigration during the 112th Congress. An amendment that increases spending for the administration of the 287(g) program passed in the House of Representatives. In addition two border security amendments offered by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) to the 2012 DHS spending bill were passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday. The two amendments would reallocate funds to provide funding towards removing mountain lookout posts along eh U.S.-Mexico border. These lookout posts are used to aid illegal aliens and drug smugglers in avoiding border patrol agents stationed in the desert. Funds to hire shadow wolves, who are an elite unit, that track smugglers along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Attn: When we have 15 million people out of work nationally, why is the federal government giving contracts to foreign countries. watching C-Span today, Congress listened to Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) pleading that US contracts for US Coast Guard diesel engines, should be made in America and not Germany? Another Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) brought to attention of both House parties, that a company in San Francisco was given a contract to manufacture TSA uniforms, and turned around and outsourced the work to Mexico. All patriotic Americans should bombard Federal and State Representatives and demand that all government contracts should go to USA companies and not outsourced to foreign countries. The People's power is invincible, but we must stand together against many entities who are only interested in profit and exploitation. We can join NumbersUSA and band together by demanding a--MANDATORY E-VERIFY--nationwide, from our federal, State representatives or call Senate—202-224–3121/ House—202-225–3121.
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