Reps. Serrano and Velázquez urge Governor Cuomo to withdraw from Secure Communities program

Last week, Congressman Serrano and Congresswoman Velázquez sent a letter to governor Cuomo urging him to withdraw New York State from the controversial Secure Communities program.  The program is an immigration enforcement system that subjects every person who has been arrested to an automatic civil immigration status check. The original goal of the program was to predominantly remove people with criminal records, although as the program has expanded it has become clear that the majority of people removed from the country are not dangerous criminals.

The letter underscored how Secure Communities, in addition to not targeting violent offenders, undermines the ability of police to keep communities safe. "When local police are serving as the arm of immigration enforcement, immigrants are less likely to cooperate as victims or witnesses in serious criminal investigations," said Serrano. "Secure Communities undermines the critical work that we as elected officials have undertaken for so long to protect due process, end racial profiling, and restore trust in the police and our criminal justice system." 

As of today, 27 of New York State’s 62 counties have activated the Secure Communities program.