Reforms for deportation policies that split families unites elected officials and community leaders

New York Daily News
Albor Ruiz - Ny Local
Sunday, September 20th 2009, 4:00 AM

East Harlem against deportation, a group whose name doesn't leave any doubt about its mission, released an important report this past Thursday.

Aptly named "Immigration Reform Starts Here," the report makes concrete policy recommendations for the city and the state to protect immigrants and their families.

"The inspiration for our work comes from the hard-working immigrant families of New York...past, present and future," said State Sen. José Serrano (D-South Bronx), who spearheaded the group, a coalition of elected officials and community leaders.

The group is also forwarding 1,000 letters from immigrant families to President Obama. Signed by legal residents on behalf of their immigrant friends and families, the letters urge the President to put a stop to the unjust detention and deportations that tear families apart, and to take the lead in advocating for comprehensive immigration reform.

But the East Harlem group believes that much can also be done at the local level to improve the lives of immigrant families.

"To make the case for comprehensive reform in Washington, we need to energize the grassroots, and also curb the unjust practices that are taking place here at home," Serrano said.

One particularly important recommendation urges the city to revise its collaboration with federal immigration officials.

In New York City, the Department of Correction allows federal officials to interview, detain and take custody of prisoners believed to be in violation of immigration law, the report says.

"My brother-in-law did nothing wrong. He worked, paid his taxes and raised his family," said Florentina (last name withheld), a member of the activist group Make the Road New York who was quoted in the report. "The charges they put him in Rikers for were dropped, but now, because of ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] he is in detention in Texas. ICE is trying to give him a life sentence of exile from his family."

According to Serrano, this collaboration of the city and the federal government has resulted in an estimated 13,000 New Yorkers - many of them, like Florentina's brother-in-law, arrested on minor charges or later found not guilty - being placed into deportation proceedings since 2004.

"In too many corners of government, deportation is a mere statistic," says the study. "In East Harlem, deportation is a broken family."

The coalition also recommends issuing a New York City ID card that would expand access to municipal services and increase public safety.

One thing the municipal ID card would not do, the report says, "is allow immigrants to circumvent federal law or citizenship procedures, or access government programs and services for which they do not already qualify under current law."

Also, the report advises a greater effort to raise the level of trust between undocumented immigrant families and the NYPD.

"Crimes are not being reported because immigrant families fear that interacting with the police would lead to deportation. How do you police a community that won't talk to you?" the report says, echoing an argument repeatedly made by many police chiefs across the nation.

Will any of these measures be adopted? Serrano is confident they will, although he acknowledges that the current anti-immigration climate will make it harder.

"Chances are good. They do not require legislative action, the heads of agencies can decide if they want to adopt them, and that makes it easier," Serrano said. "I think that when agencies read the report they will see a compelling argument to go ahead with these simple recommendations. We can do much at the local level to give immigrants the respect they deserve."

aruiz@nydailynews.com

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