Thread: 31 New York Counties now I.C.E. Secure Communities UPDATED

Counties in New York Activate Secure Communities

By Sarah Kate Kramer &bull
1/11/11

As of today, Secure Communities is no longer an abstract cloud hovering over immigrants in New York State, it is a tangible reality in two counties close to New York City. Rockland and Putnam are the first two counties to activate the program since New York entered the program in May 2010.

Secure Communities is a data-sharing program between local law enforcement agencies and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). A press release issued after Putnam County Sheriff Donald B. Smith signed the agreement with ICE said the initiative would make Putnam County a safer place to live.

The Putnam Sheriff’s office explained the process as follows: “each person of questionable citizenship committed to the Putnam County Correctional Facility (will) be immediately reported to ICE for investigation. This notification is made by email and telephone upon a suspect’s entry into the jail. This is followed by a weekly report sent to ICE.â€

This is the first 2 of 62 counties in New York.

The following states have more than 70% of their jurisdictions enrolled in the I.C.E. Secure Community Program.

All other states do NOT.

12/28/2010

AZ. - 15 of 15 - 100%

CA. - 41 of 58 - 71%

DE. - 3 of 3 - 100%

FL - 67 of 67 - 100%

HI - 3 of 4 - 75%

N.M. 32 of 33 - 97%

N.C. 77 OF 100 - 77%

TX. - 260 of 260 - 100%

VA. - 129 of 129 - 100%

W.V. 54 of 54 - 100%

www.ice.gov/
1/11/2011

RELATED

I.C.E. distributes $2.3 million to New York law enforcement

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-224469.html

Rockland and Putnam are the first two counties to activate the program since New York entered the program in May 2010.

I know which 5 counties will be last.

SOB

Two Counties in Lower Hudson Valley are First to Join Secure Communities in NY

There isn't much landscaping work in Rockland County during the winter, so the Jornaleros Project rents space from a church where day laborers can stay indoors, find warm clothes, and pass the time taking English classes. During the rest of the year, the project often advises workers on how to deal with employers who refuse to pay them.

"It's a community that's easy to pick on," said Juan Pablo Ramirez, president of the Jornaleros Project and an immigrant from Colombia. Many of the workers he assists are undocumented immigrants from Guatemala.

Ramirez said employers sometimes threaten to call immigration authorities when workers ask to be paid. Now he expects they will just threaten to call the local police.

That's because Rockland County, along with nearby Putnam County, has activated Secure Communities. The controversial immigration enforcement program automatically shares arrest data from local jails with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

"It's going to be even more scary for someone to confront their employer," said Ramirez.

Police in the area insist the program is simply an information-sharing program that will not change how they enforce state and local laws since the county began participating on Jan. 11.

"It's business as usual," said Captain William McNamara of the Putnam County Sheriff Office. "We're not interested in profiling or usurping to local government federal immigration laws."

Putnam and Rockland are the first of 62 counties in New York who are expected to activate Secure Communities by 2013, along with the rest of the country. Since it began in 2008, the program has been activated in 969 counties in 37 states nationwide.


The Midtown Manhattan skyline as seen from Nordkop Mountain in Suffern, New York, 30 miles northwest.

The two counties consist mostly of bedroom communities that lie about 30 miles northwest of New York City, where resistance to Secure Communities is strong. The NYPD police commissioner has expressed concern about the program, and more than a dozen city council members have asked the state to rescind an agreement it signed with ICE last May that clears the path for its expansion.

"We are particularly concerned for immigrants in counties outside of NYC who are more isolated from groups that are organizing and protecting for immigrant rights." Michelle Fei, Co-Director, Immigrant Defense Project, and member of a statewide working group focused on stopping Secure Communties.

Tension towards immigrants in Putnam County flared in 2009 when an undocumented immigrant killed a mother and daughter during a drunk driving accident in the Village of Brewster. After the incident, strong language appeared in comments posted to a local news outlet's message board.

"I volunteer to feed this piece of garbage into a wood chipper alive with his hands taped to his ankles," read one comment. "These animals must be dealt with. If the government does not do something, someone will."

In 2008, the village of Suffern, in Rockland County, tried to join 287(g), a federal program that deputizes local police to enforce immigration law. Its application was declined in part because the county - like most areas in New York - already targets immigrants in jail and prison for deportation through the Criminal Alien Enforcement Program (CAP).

In Putnam County, the Sheriff said he has used CAP to report at least 500 "criminal aliens" to ICE when they gave a foreign country of birth during the booking process.

But the addition of Secure Communities to the county's law enforcement tool box has caught many residents off guard.

"We were all disturbed by the lack of transparency," said Betsy Palmieri, a longtime member of the Hudson Valley Community Coalition. She said the program was activated without any chance for public input.

Advocates say immigrants who fear any interaction with police could lead to their information being shared with ICE are less likely to report crimes that impact residents of any citizenship status.

"Our taxes pay for the police department," said Palmieri, "but we're not consulted on programs like this that do not make us feel more secure."

Palmieri and Ramirez told Deportation Nation they plan to begin holding workshops for immigrants on what to do when they are stopped by police. Ramirez said he will continue working with the Mexican and Guatemalan embassies to provide workers in the area with government issued ID cards that they can show when police ask for identification.

ICE spokesman Ivan Ortiz said the number of people transferred to their custody from the two new counties won't be tallied until the end of the month. He said he did not know which New York counties would be next to join.

"There has to be an infrastructure in place before we can deploy the initiative to a specific county," said Ortiz. "Sometimes the deployment is delayed because of technological difficulties. It's all about technology."

But for Ramirez, the program has evoked much stronger emotions. He noted Secure Communities has a mandate to target immigrants who pose a threat to public safety, but most of those detained in other areas with the program have been non-violent offenders or people who simply lack legal status.

"The immigrant community here in Rockland county is a hard-working, family-oriented community who wants to give back and get involved, but a program like this does not help," said Ramirez. "It causes division. It causes mistrust. And it's unfortunate that it's going to begin here."

This report originally appeared on DeportationNation.org

Follow Renee Feltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/reneefeltz

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/renee-fel ... 09177.html

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

SOB

Two Counties in Lower Hudson Valley are First to Join Secure Communities in NY

There isn't much landscaping work in Rockland County during the winter, so the Jornaleros Project rents space from a church where day laborers can stay indoors, find warm clothes, and pass the time taking English classes. During the rest of the year, the project often advises workers on how to deal with employers who refuse to pay them.

"It's a community that's easy to pick on," said Juan Pablo Ramirez, president of the Jornaleros Project and an immigrant from Colombia. Many of the workers he assists are undocumented immigrants from Guatemala.

Ramirez said employers sometimes threaten to call immigration authorities when workers ask to be paid. Now he expects they will just threaten to call the local police.

That's because Rockland County, along with nearby Putnam County, has activated Secure Communities. The controversial immigration enforcement program automatically shares arrest data from local jails with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

"It's going to be even more scary for someone to confront their employer," said Ramirez.

Police in the area insist the program is simply an information-sharing program that will not change how they enforce state and local laws since the county began participating on Jan. 11.

"It's business as usual," said Captain William McNamara of the Putnam County Sheriff Office. "We're not interested in profiling or usurping to local government federal immigration laws."

Putnam and Rockland are the first of 62 counties in New York who are expected to activate Secure Communities by 2013, along with the rest of the country. Since it began in 2008, the program has been activated in 969 counties in 37 states nationwide.


The Midtown Manhattan skyline as seen from Nordkop Mountain in Suffern, New York, 30 miles northwest.

The two counties consist mostly of bedroom communities that lie about 30 miles northwest of New York City, where resistance to Secure Communities is strong. The NYPD police commissioner has expressed concern about the program, and more than a dozen city council members have asked the state to rescind an agreement it signed with ICE last May that clears the path for its expansion.

"We are particularly concerned for immigrants in counties outside of NYC who are more isolated from groups that are organizing and protecting for immigrant rights." Michelle Fei, Co-Director, Immigrant Defense Project, and member of a statewide working group focused on stopping Secure Communties.

Tension towards immigrants in Putnam County flared in 2009 when an undocumented immigrant killed a mother and daughter during a drunk driving accident in the Village of Brewster. After the incident, strong language appeared in comments posted to a local news outlet's message board.

"I volunteer to feed this piece of garbage into a wood chipper alive with his hands taped to his ankles," read one comment. "These animals must be dealt with. If the government does not do something, someone will."

In 2008, the village of Suffern, in Rockland County, tried to join 287(g), a federal program that deputizes local police to enforce immigration law. Its application was declined in part because the county - like most areas in New York - already targets immigrants in jail and prison for deportation through the Criminal Alien Enforcement Program (CAP).

In Putnam County, the Sheriff said he has used CAP to report at least 500 "criminal aliens" to ICE when they gave a foreign country of birth during the booking process.

But the addition of Secure Communities to the county's law enforcement tool box has caught many residents off guard.

"We were all disturbed by the lack of transparency," said Betsy Palmieri, a longtime member of the Hudson Valley Community Coalition. She said the program was activated without any chance for public input.

Advocates say immigrants who fear any interaction with police could lead to their information being shared with ICE are less likely to report crimes that impact residents of any citizenship status.

"Our taxes pay for the police department," said Palmieri, "but we're not consulted on programs like this that do not make us feel more secure."

Palmieri and Ramirez told Deportation Nation they plan to begin holding workshops for immigrants on what to do when they are stopped by police. Ramirez said he will continue working with the Mexican and Guatemalan embassies to provide workers in the area with government issued ID cards that they can show when police ask for identification.

ICE spokesman Ivan Ortiz said the number of people transferred to their custody from the two new counties won't be tallied until the end of the month. He said he did not know which New York counties would be next to join.

"There has to be an infrastructure in place before we can deploy the initiative to a specific county," said Ortiz. "Sometimes the deployment is delayed because of technological difficulties. It's all about technology."

But for Ramirez, the program has evoked much stronger emotions. He noted Secure Communities has a mandate to target immigrants who pose a threat to public safety, but most of those detained in other areas with the program have been non-violent offenders or people who simply lack legal status.

"The immigrant community here in Rockland county is a hard-working, family-oriented community who wants to give back and get involved, but a program like this does not help," said Ramirez. "It causes division. It causes mistrust. And it's unfortunate that it's going to begin here."

This report originally appeared on DeportationNation.org

Follow Renee Feltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/reneefeltz

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/renee-fel ... 09177.html

Our taxes pay for the police department," said Palmieri, "but we're not consulted on programs like this that do not make us feel more secure."


Boo hoo... You want to feel more secure? If you are in the US illegally... Then GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM! You KNOW enough to hide your illegal status. You KNOW you did wrong by sneaking into this country and now you WHINE about not feeling secure?!?! GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM, get in line behind all the others who are trying to immigrate the honest way! What in h...e... double hockey sticks makes you think you are better than them!?!? You are a line jumper.. you essentially stole another's spot. That makes you a thief and a criminal! SO, by all means, get yourself SECURE by going back to where you came from! No matter what your circumstances, being dishonest is not the kind of ethics and morals we want or need in this country. And then you claim to bring good things here... What a crock... No sympathy for you!

As of 2/8/2011 these counties have been added to the list of New York Counties in Secure Communities:

Dutches
Genesee
Nassau
Orleans
Sullivan
Ulster

I can't find a story yet, but they are now on the list.

No article to go with this info but

New York has added Orange, Suffolk and Westchester counties to the list of I.C.E. Secure Communities.

It's like they are keeping it a secret.

No article to go with this info but

New York has added Monroe, Schuyler and Wyoming counties to the list of I.C.E. Secure Communities as of 3/15/2011.

Keep up the good work New York.

Problem is Bloomberg will do all he can to stop the Feds from bringing those arrested to court. He would rather have the Feds take all the firearms from the citizens that to have them arrest illegals. Feds need to start by checking the workers at the homes of the NY politicians. Then do the garment district in NYC. There isn't enough buses, trains or subways to contain the flood of illegals that would be running out of the garment district if ICE went in there.