Quinn, Feds Clash on Inmate Records
By MICHAEL HOWARD SAUL
Wall Street Journal


New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn quietly met with federal officials recently to raise concerns about immigration authorities' access to inmate records at city jails, putting her at odds with Mayor Michael Bloomberg's stance on illegal immigrants who commit crimes.

Ms. Quinn and other elected officials requested the meeting because of "deep concern" about the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's "constant presence" on Rikers Island and its agents' "unfettered" access to criminal records and inmates, according to a letter Ms. Quinn co-authored to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano last year.

"It is in no one's interest to put the public at risk," Ms. Quinn and several other officials wrote. "At the same time, the deportation of immigrant New Yorkers who do not pose a public safety risk and do not have significant criminal records seems senseless, destroys families, ruins lives and is often simply cruel."

The March 15 meeting with the federal authorities was "contentious," with Ms. Quinn and other council members pressing the officials about whether it's legal to limit the U.S. government's access to city records, one person familiar with the matter said. Ms. Quinn and the other members now are "considering legislative solutions," the person said.

The speaker's stance appears to put her on a collision course with the mayor, and prompted strong criticism from the council's public-safety chairman, Peter Vallone Jr.

John Feinblatt, Mr. Bloomberg's chief policy adviser, said an executive order signed by the mayor prohibits any city employee from questioning individuals about their immigration status, "except those arrested for illegal activity."

"In those cases we do cooperate with federal authorities—to do any less would be irresponsible and risk compromising the safety of New Yorkers," Mr. Feinblatt said. "If federal authorities tell New York City to delay the release of a dangerous felon while they investigate, we comply, whether the person is an immigrant or not."

Mr. Vallone, a Queens Democrat, said the views reflected in Ms. Quinn's letter to Ms. Napolitano would have a "deleterious affect on public safety."

"I often hear we should only deport 'violent criminals,' which I guess means that those who steal identities, who sexually harass people on subways get to stay," Mr. Vallone said in an interview. "Is it OK to commit 20 shoplifts?"

Ms. Quinn, the second most power official in city government, is coming under increased scrutiny as she contemplates whether to run for mayor in 2013. She isn't the only potential mayoral candidate to question federal authorities' access to inmates' records; Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer has urged Mr. Bloomberg to end the city's collaboration with the federal government on Rikers Island.

Federal authorities detain and deport roughly 3,200 foreign-born inmates from Rikers Island each year. Advocates for immigrants say the federal government is sweeping up people who haven't been convicted of serious crimes, and, in some cases, people who are innocent of any wrongdoing.

Council Member Daniel Dromm, chairman of the council's Immigration Committee who attended the meeting with Ms. Quinn and the federal officials, said he believes the city should deny the federal government access to inmates' records.

The government's current policy "destroys families and tears them apart and ruins people's lives," Mr. Dromm said. "It creates a mistrust in the communities where policing is already hard enough for immigrant populations."

Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito, who also attended the meeting, said she believes the city needs to exercise a "level of discretion about the information that is shared" with federal authorities.

The debate about the federal government's current access to city jails comes as the federal government moves forward with a new controversial immigration enforcement program, called "Secure Communities." This program sends fingerprints of suspects booked by police to be cross-referenced with a federal database of unauthorized immigrants.

Last year, New York state signed onto this federal program, but, to date, it hasn't started within the five boroughs. A spokesman for the mayor said the city doesn't have the right to "opt out" of the program.

Write to Michael Howard Saul at michael.saul@wsj.com

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 63974.html