June 6, 2011
“I commend Governor Cuomo for suspending New York’s participation in the federal Secure Communities Program and thank the Assembly’s Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force for calling attention to this issue. The stated purpose of the program was to identify and remove illegal aliens convicted of serious crimes, however the vast majority of immigrants deported under the program to date have never been convicted of any crime. There is also a concern that the program is having a chilling effect on the relationship between law enforcement and law abiding immigrants”.
