Amid a looming congressional battle over the state of immigration reform, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law two bills that dramatically limit the city’s cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, and evicts the agency from its Rikers Island offices.
“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 support,” said de Blasio.
Formerly, ICE would distribute detainment orders to municipal policing forces requesting that they intern and eventually hand over undocumented individuals, including those who were arrested on minor charges or have had their cases resolved or dismissed. Under the new provisions, the city now reserves the right to refuse these requests unless a federal warrant is presented or if the person in question has been convicted of a capital offense.
Opposition to the legislation has been legion, with many asserting that the proposals could eventually lead to the erosion of crucial public safety efforts. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Luis Martinez, an ICE spokesperson, said that the agency’s job is “to ensure that dangerous criminals are not released from prisons or jails and into our communities … 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.”
De Blasio has sought to allay these concerns by arguing that by eliminating the threat of potential deportation, many undocumented individuals would now feel secure enough to cooperate with local law enforcement, thereby ameliorating public safety.
“Today, we send another message to Washington that the time to act has come to provide relief to so many individuals who contribute to our nation’s growth.”
Delivering his speech on the steps of the ornate Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Corona, Queens, de Blasio was flanked by several individuals who had run afoul of ICE in recent years. One such individual was Carlos Rodriguez, a Dominican man who was detained by federal officials for eight months for allegedly trespassing. It was eventually found that Rodriguez was, in fact, not trespassing, but simply visiting a friend. Rodriguez was released but is still fighting deportation to the Dominican Republic.
“Even though it doesn’t help me right now, I know it helps somebody else out there,” he said in the press.
On the federal level, the issue of immigration still remains a contentious one. The bills themselves were fortuitously introduced on the heels of President Barack Obama’s promise to use executive action to move forward on immigration reform, effectively circumventing Congress. Many conservative Republicans have threatened that another government shutdown is a potential response.