Last week, while I was on vacation, Governor Cuomo announced that New York State will no longer participate in the Immigration & Customs Enforcement Agency’s Secure Communities Program. The New York Governor’s announcement was met by praise in the immigration community, in law enforcement, and in political circles throughout the United States (The Massachusetts governor has even followed suit – stopping Secure Communities participation in Massachusetts).
Secure Communities is a program started by the Bush administration to remove violent, dangerous immigrants from the United States. Unfortunately, all of the statistics show that a vast majority of the immigrants who are deported through Secure Communities are nonviolent individuals who have never committed a criminal offense.
The federal government has insisted that Secure Communities would be manditory throughout the United States by 2013. With New York, Illinois, and Massachusetts no longer participating, the ultimate fate of the program is unknown.
Thanks to Governor Cuomo, New York immigrants are no longer subject to the draconian program – and I am sure they will not forget it. Maybe Governor Cuomo will now look into whether to continue the New York immigrant pardon panel set up by the former governor.