In recent times, a 19-year-old illegal immigrant shooting at two New York City police officers has raised concerns about public safety among conservative elected officials. The Common Sense Caucus of the New York City Council, comprised of 8 council members, officially introduced a proposal on June 6th (Intro. 945), challenging the city’s decades-old sanctuary city law.
The proposal calls for the repeal of laws that restrict cooperation between the New York City Department of Correction, the Probation Department, and the New York City Police Department with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It also aims to abolish prohibitions on New York City collaborating with ICE in enforcing federal immigration laws, as well as restrictions on immigration authorities obtaining immigrant information from the city. In total, there are 4 key provisions in the proposal, which are currently under review by the City Council’s Public Safety Committee.
Council Member Robert Holden, leading the proposal, along with Council Member Joe Borelli and other co-signers, held a press conference outside City Hall to advocate for the measure.
When asked if the proposal would turn New York City into a “police city” or if it would expand law enforcement powers, Council Member Holden responded, “This proposal aims to rid New York City of crime and nothing more. This is what the proposal is meant to do, not to deter immigrants from coming to New York City, but rather to prevent further crimes.”
Holden pointed out that the New York City Police Department does not cooperate with ICE on the terrorist watch list, despite there being two million individuals globally listed as terrorists by the U.S. He highlighted the unknown number of individuals crossing the southern U.S. border and the potential risks posed by their presence.
Council Member Borelli criticized the current sanctuary city law in New York City for deviating from its original intention of protecting immigrant families and children’s rights to education and living conditions. He argued that illegal immigrants receive more protections after local crimes than criminal organizations or drug traffickers.
Kenneth Genalo, Director of the New York City Area Office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also attended the press conference, using case studies to illustrate the criminal loopholes created by sanctuary city laws.
Genalo explained that when an individual is arrested by local law enforcement, the decision to detain or set bail is left to the court. If released without bail into the community, ICE units cannot track them. If transferred to Rikers Island prison, ICE will dispatch an immigration detention officer and coordinate with law enforcement agencies to hold the individual for an additional day upon their release.
“However, due to the sanctuary city law, there is no collaboration between immigration authorities and local law enforcement, and when criminals are released, the Correction Department doesn’t inform immigration authorities,” Genalo stated.
On February 5th, Genalo, along with Republican Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis, Council Members Borelli, Paladino, and Holden, held a press conference in Times Square, Manhattan, criticizing New York City’s ongoing stance of prohibiting the police department from cooperating with immigration authorities on immigration crime issues.
The sanctuary city law in New York City, which prohibits law enforcement agencies from collaborating with immigration authorities, can be traced back to 1989 when then-Mayor Ed Koch issued an executive order barring the New York City Police Department from voluntarily sharing immigrant personal information with the U.S. Immigration authorities.
In 2014, former Mayor Bill de Blasio aimed to make New York City an immigrant-friendly city and passed legislation barring the U.S. Immigration authorities from requesting the New York City police force to detain undocumented immigrants for 48 hours after committing a crime, additionally preventing immigration authorities from stationing personnel inside Correction Department-managed jail facilities.
In the early hours of June 2nd, 19-year-old illegal immigrant Bernardo Castro Mata from Venezuela, a member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, shot two police officers in the Queens neighborhood of Elmhurst while evading authorities. Mata, who entered the U.S. illegally last year and applied for asylum, has been charged as a result of his actions.
Council Members Vickie Paladino, Kristy Marmorato, Joann Ariola, Kalman Yeger, Inna Vernikov, and David M. Carr, all part of the Common Sense Caucus, have endorsed the proposal to abolish the sanctuary city law.