The title of this article is in error, perhaps it will be corrected soon so for now just copied part of the beginning of the article. As it is now it shows it as 'New Yorkers protest Wall Street and depend on it'

~~~~

8:52 PM, Nov. 20, 2011

Written by

Joseph Spector

ALBANY -- The number of deportations in New York under the Secure Communities program has surged in recent months, despite Gov. Andrew Cuomo's attempt to withdraw the state from the federal initiative.

A review by Gannett's Albany Bureau shows that 316 illegal immigrants were deported from January through September in New York. There were 45 deportations as of April.

The increase in deportations through Secure Communities has raised concerns among immigration-rights groups and some state lawmakers. They said studies have shown that some people are being detained or deported without due process — pulling them away from their families unjustly.

But some law enforcement officials said the program is effectively helping them nab illegal immigrants who committed major crimes.

The program, started in 2008 nationally, seeks to identify serious criminals who are illegal immigrants when they are apprehended by local law enforcement. Fingerprints of those arrested are shared by the state with the FBI and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, allowing them to match any potential illegal immigrants.

"I think ICE and the Department of Homeland Security are moving forward with this program without regard of the effect it's having on our communities," said Betsy Palmieri, executive director of the Hudson Valley Community Coalition, based in Cross River, Westchester County.

In June, Cuomo said the state would suspend its participation in the program pending a review of its effectiveness. Immigration-rights groups and lawmakers, particularly Latino legislators who said Hispanics are most targeted by the program, hailed the move.

But the Obama administration in August rejected attempts by governors, including those in Massachusetts, Illinois and California, to exempt their states from the program.

Since the program started, the federal government nationwide has removed 142,090 illegal immigrants from the country through Sept. 30, the most recent statistics available from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Of those, 37,626 were level 1 offenders convicted of aggravated felonies like murder, rape and the sexual abuse of children, federal officials said.

Thirty-one counties in New York, half of its 62 counties, have entered the program. It is slated to become mandatory nationally by 2013. Tompkins County was not part of the program.

"ICE continues to work with its law enforcement partners in New York and across the country to responsibly and effectively implement this federal information sharing capability and plans to reach complete nationwide activation by the end of 2013," ICE spokesman Luis Martinez said in a statement.

California led the country in the number of deportations through the program, a total of 55,233. Texas ranked second with 33,447 removals and Arizona ranked third with 17,606.

Suffolk and Nassau counties on Long Island led the state with the number of removals of illegal immigrants, with 79 and 67, respectively. Westchester County ranked third with 55 deportations, up from eight as of April 30.

Some law-enforcement officials in New York defended the program, saying it has helped rid communities of serious criminals who are in the country illegally.

Rockland County Sheriff William Kralik said he hasn't seen instances where low-level offenses led to illegal immigrants' deportations.

"It's not supposed to be the traffic violator, and it's not," he said.

Critics, however, said states should have greater control over their entry into the program. New York City, for example, hasn't entered the program and earlier this month the City Council passed a bill to end cooperation with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

Josh Vlasto, a Cuomo spokesman, said the governor is monitoring the program as a review of how it is working continues.

A national study last month contended there are significant flaws in the program. About 3,600 U.S. citizens, not illegal immigrants, had been arrested since the program started, according to the study from the University of California at Berkeley and the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City.

The study found that 93 percent of those arrested were Latinos, although they compromise 77 percent of the undocumented population in the country.

Secure Communities has also expanded rapidly, the study found. It is active in 1,595 jurisdictions in 44 states, a 65 percent increase since the beginning of the year.

Assemblyman Felix Ortiz, D-Brooklyn, said the federal government should give states more latitude in implementing the program.

"I hope they can be a little more sensitive and listening and respecting the governor's position," said Ortiz, who chairs the Assembly's Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force.

— Joseph Spector is the Gannett Albany Bureau Chief

www.pressconnects.com