The New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), an umbrella policy and advocacy organization that represents over 200 immigrant and refugee rights groups throughout New York, on Thursday strongly denounced corrections officers’ emails to agents with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, and called for swift passage of protections for Caribbean and other immigrants.
NYIC said that it was revealed on Wednesday, during a New York City Council Committees on Immigration and on Criminal Justice hearing that NYC Department of Corrections (DOC) officers were sharing information about incarcerated immigrants with ICE.
“Emails sent from DOC officers to ICE were intended to help facilitate ICE pickups and deportations,” Murad Awawdeh, NYIC’s executive director, told Caribbean Life. “This is a violation of NYC’s 2014 Sanctuary City legislation, which is supposed to end the warrantless and unconstitutional detention of immigrants, and stop collusion between NYC law enforcement and ICE.
“New York is a welcoming city for all people who call it home, and our Sanctuary City laws exist to protect all of our neighbors from unjust detentions and deportations,” he added. “But apparently, some DOC officers have decided that the law does not apply to them. By unlawfully colluding with ICE, these officers put the futures and families of our immigrant neighbors at risk, and betrayed the trust between immigrant communities and local law enforcement that is essential for fostering a safe city.
“This shameless disregard for the law, and, in turn, the rights of the people those officers were charged with serving, will not go unnoticed,” Awawdeh continued.
At the city level, he said the NYC Council must “immediately pass — and the mayor must sign — each bill that is part of the ICE Out.”
NYC legislative package, especially Intro 185, which would prohibit the DOC from communicating with federal immigration authorities.
“At the state level, the Legislature and governor must enact New York For All to ensure our state and local law enforcement and other resources are not used to support the ICE agenda: targeting and separating New York immigrant families, and sowing fear in our communities,” Awawdeh said.
“While some in law enforcement are actively working to subvert justice, our elected officials must swiftly step up to provide stronger, more comprehensive protections for immigrant New Yorkers,” he added.
