Yesterday, New York Governor David Paterson reached an agreement with federal officials in an effort to fortify immigration enforcement in the state. Paterson has historically been a proponent of protecting illegal immigrant rights, and on December 25th, he pardoned 24 immigrants with prior criminal history as to prevent their deportation. After the pardon, Paterson stated that federal immigration laws can “excessively harsh and in need of modernization.” The Secure Communities pact reached with the federal government, however, makes little change in the existing law, used primarily to detain and deport immigrants who are considered a threat to public safety and national security.
Paterson did not achieve a legislative modernization to protect illegal immigrants from unlawful detainment. Instead, the program dictates that fingerprints of everyone booked into a local or county jail be sent to the Homeland Security Department and compared with prints in the agency’s databases. Also, the new pact does not prevent officials from deporting immigrants without a criminal history. Therefore, questions of how to balance civil liberties with homeland security escalating in New York immigration politics, just as Paterson leaves office.
To read more, click below:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/31/nyregion/31secure.html?ref=politics
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