The sanctuary laws in place in New York City have far reaching impacts that may be more severe than generally perceived. They don’t just serve to safeguard the general populace of immigrants who have entered the states illicitly but have otherwise kept the law. These rules also manage to shield some of the globe’s most vicious criminals from being sent back by the ICE. This practice began in earnest in 2014 when two bills were ratified by the NYC Council, which practically disallowed the NYPD and the Department of Correction (DOC) from cooperating extensively with ICE
Public records indicate that the NYPD has not complied with any ICE detainer requests since the 2016 Fiscal Year. Enforced through the two legislative Acts, the NYPD and DOC can only comply with a detainer request from ICE if the suspect in custody has earlier been found guilty of committing a ‘violent or serious’ crime as described by law and the ICE holds a warrant from a judge. Despite this, due to the peculiarities of immigration law, judges usually lack the authority to issue deportation warrants and hence do not issue them.
Clearly, this is in stark contrast with federal laws that the ICE seeks to implement via its deportation actions. Yet, these are the legislations governing the functioning of the NYPD and DOC. This system has unfortunately resulted in dire outcomes. A grim example of this is the incident where an off-duty Customs and Border Protection officer was shot by two unauthorized immigrants at Fort Washington Park on July 20.
These individuals had previously run afoul of the law on several occasions. After one of the pair was apprehended for the fourth-degree felony in April, a detainer request was issued by ICE. However, the DOC disregarded this request, leading to the offender being released back to society. The ramifications were swift and severe – within less than three months, this individual shot the off-duty border patrol officer.
A similarly distressing incident occurred in Brooklyn, where an undocumented immigrant attacked a homeless woman with a knife in Coney Island. This horrific event transpired just two months following his release from Rikers Island. While serving his sentence at Riker’s, a detainer request was issued for this man by the ICE, but it was not adhered to. As a result, he was let loose because of the legislations formulated by the City Council.
New York’s sanctuary city policies of 2014 stand as the most extreme of their kind. These certain policies, however, were not formulated in isolation. The inception of sanctuary city policies in New York City occurred when the city executive order prohibited city officers and employees from disclosing information about a non-citizen to federal immigration authorities, save for exceptions when the person was suspected of criminal activity.
This led to Congress passing a law aimed at preventing cities from restricting their employees from liaising with federal immigration enforcement. In response, New York City adopted sanctuary city rules as part of its charter. Further, in 2011, a law was passed by the New York City Council banning the DOC from adhering to ICE detainer requests with exceptions listed for convicts, pending criminal cases, outstanding warrants, known gang members or potential terrorists as identified in a database.
The 2011 law was also inapplicable in cases where ICE had an evacuation warrant for a person. But, the 2014 bills eliminated these exceptions and included a new necessity. Nevertheless, with an overwhelming 10 million undocumented immigrants across the country, and the courts’ limited capacity, executing such a volume of cases remained impracticable.
The law demonstrated its intended effects over time. Public data indicates that since the Fiscal Year of 2016, the NYPD has not endorsed a single ICE detainer request. When sanctuary cities come to mind, the general conception is that their laws are born from an excess of compassion, aimed at protecting law-abiding undocumented immigrants from being extradited. But, the reality in New York City paints a much different picture.
The city’s policies extend protection far beyond the benign, covering even the most egregious criminals, to the detriment of American citizens. Fast forward to the year 2024, two council members proposed a bill to repeal all sanctuary city laws present in New York. Currently, without an adequate number of sponsors, the legislation cannot pass. It is apparent that political support to usher in such drastic changes is lacking within the City Council.
Despite the Democrats’ desire to shield illegal immigrants from deportation, there isn’t a credible basis for declining ICE detainer requests for violent felons. The re-offending rates are significantly high, and it results in a risky situation when paired with the anti-bail approach of criminal court judges. A staggering 97% of Americans believe violent criminals should be sent back, yet New York City law renders it nearly impossible.
A legislator within the NYC Council should present a law particularly to repeal the 2014 laws. Even from a liberal standpoint, there’s no reason that justifies inhibiting the city’s agencies from handing over people charged with crimes like murder and sexual assault to ICE.
Such an incident had occurred when an illegal immigrant assaulted a woman at Coney Island with a knife, just a few months after the DOC did not acknowledge an ICE detainer request for him. Even within Democrat-majority City Council, in a city inclined to the left, a policy that enables such incidents should not be acceptable. It is an instance of cruelty and injustice that cannot be justified.
The post Sanctuary Laws in NYC Shield Even the Most Dangerous Criminals appeared first on Real News Now.
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