NEW YORK—Immigrants in New York could now enjoy safety from federal detainment orders, which the city could refuse to honor without a federal judge’s warrant, in two new bills introduced by City Council members Tuesday.
Even with a warrant, a suspect must be convicted of a violent or serious crime for police to detain him or her.
The second bill would send U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) offices packing from Riker’s Island.
The bills have been referred to a committee on immigration for further study.
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, one of the key backers of the bill, said that under ICE’s orders, undocumented immigrants were often sent adrift. “In ripping families apart for extremely low level offenses, you’re having families that now have to look toward government possibly for additional support and that has a cost attached to it.”
In the Red Room in City Hall, Mark-Viverito answered common questions about the bills. In particular, she said, high level criminals like those on terrorist watch would be detained.
“We would only honor the judicial warrant in extreme cases,” said Mark-Viverito, who said that the bills had the support of the NYPD. Mayor Bill de Blasio has also expressed support.
Furthermore, communication between the NYPD and ICE would not be impeded by the bills.
“What’s going to be different is how we interact with the information we receive,” Mark-Viverito said, “In this case, we are not going to honor it.”
