Bellone: County wont hold undocumented immigrants without warrant Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone announced Saturday that all Suffolk County law enforcement agencies will stop cooperating with a federal program to detain undocumented immigrants, without a warrant. The policy, introduced at the end of a social and racial justice forum in Islandia, adds the police and probation departments to the agencies refusing to honor Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer requests through the Secure Communities program. The Suffolk Sherriffs Department said last month it would stop holding inmates solely on an ICE detainer request unless a judge issued a warrant. This is a great step forward, and shows that Suffolk County is concerned with protecting the civil rights of all of its residents, Amol Sinha, Suffolk County Chapter director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement. We look forward to working with the county executive and law enforcement officials and law enforcement agencies to develop and implement policies that will ensure that individuals are not unlawfully detained, and are treated with the basic dignity that all community members deserve. The federal immigration enforcement program has been subject to increasing criticism throughout the country. In June, the Nassau County Sheriffs Department changed its policy to require federal immigration officials to present at least administrative warrants before an inmate can be held. It is continuing our effort to demonstrate that Suffolk County celebrates its diversity, its inclusiveness and that we are going to rebuild trust between the police and the community, Bellone said in an interview after the announcement. Bellone signed a letter of intent authorizing the new policy during the evening reception of the 2014 Long Island Somos El Futuro/We Are The Future Black-Brown Alliance Conference held at the Marriott hotel. His signing drew cheers and applause from the crowd. He was surrounded by the conference sponsor, Assemb. Phil Ramos (D-Brentwood), and other local and state officials and activists who had pushed for change. At least one group condemned Suffolk County Executive Steven Bellonenes move. This is pure politics at the expense of public safety and security, and it sort of violates the norm of law enforcement, said Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for Federation for American Immigration Reform, which advocates the enforcement of immigration laws and a reduction in immigration. Suffolk and Nassau counties joined the Secure Communities program in February 2011. As of this past July 31, ICE had deported 781 immigrants from Suffolk and 499 from Nassau. The program was started so ICE and the FBI could share information to identify criminal aliens through fingerprints.
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 04:30:35 +0000
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