By Bill Parry
While the nation awaited President Obama’s planned overhaul of the immigration system, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed two bills into law that dramatically reduces New York City’s cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on detentions and deportations of undocumented immigrants.
Surrounded by elected officials, immigrant rights advocates, church leaders and police, the mayor said, “What we all want is comprehensive immigration reform that recognizes and respects and normalizes the lives of almost 12 million people, half a million of whom are here in this city.”
The new laws will require immigration officials to present a judicial warrant before the city can hold an immigrant in custody or if the person has been convicted of a serious crime or is on a terrorist watch list.
“Mass deportation has not only pulled apart thousands of New York City families, it has also undermined public safety in our communities and imposed disproportionate penalties on immigrant parents and spouses who these families depend on for emotional and financial supports,” de Blasio said at a news conference in Corona Friday. “Our city is not served when New Yorkers with strong ties to the community are afraid to engage with law enforcement because they fear law enforcement.”
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton called the signing a step in the right direction, and NYPD Chief of Patrol Carlos Gomez said, “This will surely help us work closer with our communities. No longer will undocumented immigrants have to worry about being detained.”
The two bills also end the presence of ICE on Rikers Island and all other city facilities.
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement requests detainers on individuals arrested on criminal charges to ensure that dangerous criminals are not released from prisons or jails and into our communities,” an ICE spokesman said.” ICE will continue to work cooperatively with law enforcement partners throughout New York as the agency seeks to enforce its priorities through the identification and removal of convicted criminals and other public safety threats.” The signing ceremony took place on the steps of Our Lady of Sorrows Church, at 104-11 37th Ave., which serves the largest immigrant community in the city, according to de Blasio.
“That he did the signings here sends a clear message that this mayor stands with the immigrant community, and that’s quite a thrill,” City Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras (D-East Elmhurst) said. “These two bills are a progressive step towards repairing the dysfunctional national immigration system and will protect the rights of immigrants. This is reverberating throughout this neighborhood, that Corona finally has a light shined on it for the right reason.”
The mayor presented a young Dominican named Carlos Rodriguez, who was mistakenly arrested for trespassing and detained by ICE for eight months even after the charges against him were dropped. “I was scared because when you’re in detention, you have no idea what’s happening with your case,” he said. “You don’t have any idea if they’re going to pick you today, if they are going to deport you tonight.”
Rodriguez is still fighting deportation to the Dominican Republic.
“This community will be heavily impacted in a positive way,” City Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) said. “I can’t tell you how many visitors to my office have had their families torn apart with ICE crackdowns. This sends a message to the federal government that New York City will protect its people. We have a moral obligation to act on the local level to save our families and friends from deportation.”
The mayor added that in the absence of federal leadership in what he called “a national issue that’s been swept under the rug, stigmatized, run away from” and ignored, “I think our nation’s history speaks to this.”
He added, “When one city acts, then another city acts, then the state acts, then another state acts — slowly but surely it becomes national policy.”
