Thread: New York's immigrants are on thin ICE: Arbitrary detentions

New York's immigrants are on thin ICE: Arbitrary detentions and deportations must stop
By Robert Morgenthau

Wednesday, July 27th 2011, 4:00 AM


A detained Mexican immigrant visits with his wife and children at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility

Say what you mean. Mean what you say.

There is a vast gulf between the claimed purpose of immigration laws and the execution of these laws. These laws are theoretically designed to keep the country safe and rid us of dangerous criminals. In actuality, they are frequently applied with the questionable involvement of state and local authorities to detain and exclude undocumented immigrants who have committed no crime whatsoever and are no danger to the public.

Many well-intentioned local officials utter platitudes in support of the right of hardworking undocumented immigrants to stay here and contribute to their communities. But their words do not inform the actions of our local governments that have become the handmaidens to the federal government's general enforcement of immigration laws.

Even as officials talk about the importance of welcoming new immigrants and about their essential contributions to social and economic welfare in the U.S., thousands of the undocumented are being quickly detained and deported "under the radar."

New York City cooperates with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as part of what's called the Criminal Alien Program. But CAP does not focus on immigrants who have been convicted of serious crimes and who have thus demonstrated that they do not belong here. In 2009, 57% of the immigrants deported under CAP had no criminal convictions. Under the more recent Secure Communities program, the number of noncriminal deportations is even higher. For example, in Jefferson Parish, La., 71% of those deported through Secure Communities were noncriminals.

Federal law does not require local law enforcement agents to cooperate with federal immigration agents. Nonetheless, immigration agents have operated at Rikers Island for 20 years - despite the absence of a formal agreement allowing them to be there. Correction Department officials provide these agents with a list of foreign-born arrestees. ICE agents interview those arrestees and place immigration holds or detainers on those who may be deported. As a result, 1,000 immigrants at Rikers Island were detained by ICE in 2010.

Cooperation between ICE and city officials has an impact on the city apart from deportations. According to the Mayor's Office to Combat Domestic Violence, immigrant women are at greater risk of being killed by their partners than any other group of women. Why? It is reasonable to assume that cooperation between ICE and the city leads to distrust of the local police force - making immigrant women afraid to solicit the help of the police, lest they or their partners be deported. Other crime victims, including many preyed upon because they are vulnerable immigrants, refuse to cooperate with the authorities.

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of local cooperation with ICE is how arbitrary and inhumane that agency's enforcement efforts often are. Legal permanent residents and other legal visa holders who have not yet gained U.S. citizenship can be deported for trivial violations and misdemeanors as well as technical immigration violations.

For example, Erla Lillendahl, a native of Iceland, was on her way to a vacation in the U.S. when she was arrested at Kennedy Airport, held in shackles and denied the opportunity to call her friends and family for 48 hours before being deported. This happened because she had overstayed a U.S. visa 10 years ago.

Segundo Encalada married an American and became a father to her son. When his wife was pregnant with their first daughter, he was forced to leave the U.S. All the family's efforts to help him return failed. The family spent all of its money on immigration lawyers. Isolated from his family, Encalada eventually committed suicide. Other New York City residents are held for lengthy periods in detention centers in New Jersey, Alabama, Texas, Arizona and Louisiana, far from their families.

In addition, detainees are subject to abuse and sometimes even death - 107 people died in immigration detention from 2003 to 2010.

Mayor Bloomberg, citing an economic study, has stated that "more than 40% of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or children of immigrants, and those companies employ more than 10 million people worldwide and have combined revenues of $4.2 trillion." If we truly believe that our new immigrants likewise are a major asset to New York and the United States, as I do, it is time that we start treating them as assets instead of harassing, abusing and alienating them from society.

Mean what you say. Even more importantly, do what you say.

Morgenthau, the former Manhattan district attorney, is of counsel to Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, where he works pro bono on immigration reform.

http://tinyurl.com/3op2pbb

Oh, boo hoo. Don't break our laws and you won't be in these situations.

Originally Posted by Ratbstard

A detained Mexican immigrant visits with his wife and children at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility

http://tinyurl.com/3op2pbb

========================================

PROBLEM: The wife is also an illegal alien.

. These laws are theoretically designed to keep the country safe and rid us of dangerous criminals. In actuality, they are frequently applied with the questionable involvement of state and local authorities to detain and exclude undocumented immigrants who have committed no crime whatsoever and are no danger to the public.

But they have committed a crime. The crime of crossing the border ILLEGALLY

Originally Posted by working4change

But they have committed a crime. The crime of crossing the border ILLEGALLY

Actually it is not a crime. For some damn reason it has a lower level definition which I can't think of right now. Congress needs to pass a law that does define it as a crime.

Being from Upstate Ny.. You seldom see and lationo's in the area I lived as companies won't hire them, Most of the companies would rather hire family or friends of the people who already work for them. More or less supporting their own communities. Most business owners you talk to will say something like "Why in the world would I want to hire someone and bring them into the community that I have no idea who they are, if they are criminals or dangerous? Why would I want to hire someone who will end up costing the community more money to support them in food stamps, health care education?

Congress tried to change Illegal Immigration to a Felony in 2006. Remember them marching in our streets en mass to stop this law and it worked.

That was when a whole bunch of citizens realized how big a IA problem we have,including me.

"Morgenthau, the former Manhattan district attorney, is of counsel to Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, where he works pro bono on immigration reform."

This would explain this distorted hit piece, then.