With his civil rights legacy in jeopardy, New York Gov. David Paterson has released a new Secure Communities Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). On his second to last day in office, Paterson said in a press release that “advocates have raised valid concerns, which is why I instructed my staff to renegotiate the agreement with the Federal government.” But immigrant and civil rights activists say the revised partnership is substantially similar to the old one signed in... Read More

3:30am Line Servers! Juice Porters! The familiar cadence awakens me. In truth it doesn’t much wake me from a deep slumber as much as it jolts me to sit upright from another night of drowsy existence. It sounds bleak, I know, but lying inside the prison cell and not knowing the length of time you’ll actually be in here is exhausting. That’s because “ICE Detainees” are not waiting to do “time” like regular prisoners. If that were the case, I have to imagine it would... Read More

New York Governor David Paterson has just a few weeks left in office and pressure is growing for him to rescind the state’s agreement to participate in Secure Communities. The controversial program has yet to go into effect here. If it does, federal immigration agents will be able to monitor arrest data from every jail in the state. Thursday immigrants and their supporters rallied outside his midtown office and called for him to take action.  Read More

Is it possible to opt-out of the controversial Secure Communities program that shares local arrest data with immigration agents? The public may know as soon as January. Today lawyers for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tried to argue before Judge Shira Scheindlin in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York that they needed more time to respond to an emergency injunction to release opt-out related documents. But she was out of patience. “I’m... Read More

Since it began in the final months of the Bush administration, Secure Communities has quickly spread. Thirty-four states now use the program to share arrest data from local law enforcement agencies with federal immigration agents. That leaves more than a dozen hold-outs. Last week Washington’s State Patrol declined to sign an agreement with Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement (ICE) to activate the controversial program. “We are a state law-enforcement... Read More

Archived video is now available from two round table discussions on immigration enforcement policies and the experiences of communities where 287(g) agreements have been implemented. The discussions were part of an event hosted by the Wilson Center last month. Part 1: The Scope, Effectiveness, and Accountability of Enforcement Programs Part 2: The Impact of 287 (g) Agreements and Secure Communities at the Local Level and in Frontline States The event’s most notable speaker... Read More

(En Inglés) Por Renee Feltz, ilustraciones de Stokely Baksh, traducción de Vladimir Flores García. Era una noche reciente de sábado en Jackson Heights cuando un grupo de hombres se encontraron para disfrutar de unos tragos en un bar con clientela internacional. De salida a la avenida Roosevelt, las ruidosas conversaciones del grupo fueron interrumpidas por dos agentes del NYPD. Quienes eran indocumentados corrieron y los varios que se no dispersaron rápidamente fueron encarados... Read More

I’m 27 years old, this is my first blog. It’s odd to think I am writing it from a jail cell. Although, I should mention that officially I am not a prisoner, I am a detainee. Much like the people held in Guantanamo, I suppose, but my charge isn’t terrorism. My main charge is not being a US Citizen. My story is much the same as many kids who grow up in the US, Honor Roll K-12, captain of Football and Wrestling teams.  Then off to college I went to learn and prepare how to... Read More