Thread: Immigrant groups protest NYPD ‘stop and frisk’ policy

Immigrant groups protest NYPD ‘stop and frisk’ policy

Friday, 01 June 2012 10:26 AJPress

Local immigrant community groups have criticized the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) stop-and-frisk policy that affects hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers each year.

It has invited fellow immigrants and members of other communities to join the upcoming June 17th “End Stop-and-Frisk: Silent March Against Racial Profiling.”

The groups recently discussed the effects of “discriminatory, humiliating and ineffective racial profiling policies like the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policy,” a joint statement said.

“New Yorkers were stopped and frisked by police nearly 700,000 times last year - almost all of those targeted were innocent of any crime, and almost all of them were Black or Latino,” City Comptroller John C. Liu.

“It’s just impossible to say stop-and-frisk is not racial profiling, and continuation of this practice not only violates the department ban against racial profiling but raises civil rights questions,” he added in his statement.

“With the activation of Secure Communities in New York State, speaking out against NYPD’s out-of-control stop-and-frisk practices has become more important than ever for our immigrant communities,” Council member Melissa Mark-Viverito, for her part said.

New Yorkers were stopped and frisked by police nearly 700,000 times last year, the joint statement noted. Some 87 percent of those stopped were either Black or Latino. According to the New York Civil Liberties Union, nine out of ten people stopped were totally innocent and 99.9 percent of the time, no gun was retrieved.

Stop-and-frisk is not only a civil rights issue, it is also a financial one, the groups said. It also poses a potential financial liability to the City. Claim settlements and judgments against the NYPD have risen from $74.1 million in Fiscal Year 2002 to $186.3 million in Fiscal Year 2011.

Social Worker and Philippine Forum community organizer Melanie Dulfo, meanwhile said, “The Philippine Forum stands with the community in wanting to end stop-and-frisk. We are against any racist policies that could contribute to making our communities feel unsafe, including anti-immigrant laws.”

Deputy Political Director of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union Christina Baal for her part noted, “We represent a diverse immigrant workforce in New York City, and our members know that policies like stop-and-frisk unfairly target people of color. We stand in solidarity with everyone who will be marching on Father’s Day to say no to racial profiling and discrimination.”

Other organizations that have expressed support for the June 17th “End Stop-and-Frisk: Silent March Against Racial Profiling” include American Buddhist Confederation; APICHA Community Health Center; Arab American Association of New York; Asian American Federation; Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance; Association of Indians in America - New York Chapter; Bangladesh League of America New York; BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir; Center for Popular Democracy; Chhaya CDC; Chinatown Partnership Youth Initiatives; Civil Aid Services; Coalition for Asian American Children and Families; Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence; Communities United for Police Reform; Council on American-Islamic Relations; Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM); Eastern Vietnam Cambodia Laos Chinese Descent Association; Family Health Project; Federation of Indians Associations; Hotel Chinese Association of New York; Islamic Council of North America; Japanese American Citizens League - New York Chapter; Korean American Association of Greater New York; La Fuente; Latino Justice PRLDEF; Minkwon Center for Community Action; Muslim Consultative Network; New Immigrant Community Empowerment; New York Chinese Cultural Center; New York Immigration Coalition; Organization of Chinese Americans - NY; Pakistan Community Center; Perwakrin; Philippine Forum / Bayanihan Community Center; Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union; Sikh Coalition; South Asian Youth Action; Southeast Queens County Young Democrats; Turning Point for Women and Families; United Fujianese of America; United Hindu Cultural Council of USA of North America, Inc.; USA Fuzhou San Shan Association; Young Korean American Network (yKAN); YWCA of Queens.

The June 17th “End Stop-and-Frisk: Silent March Against Racial Profiling” is co-organized by SEIU 1199, the NAACP, and the National Action Network with support from community groups across the city. More information is available at End Stop & Frisk | End Stop & Frisk Silent March.

Immigrant groups protest NYPD

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