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New York Gov. David Paterson’s Record on Immigration Marred by Secure Communities

Posted December 22, 2010 by Ted Hesson

During his two and a half years in office, New York Gov. David Paterson consistently backed policies protecting immigrant rights, but dealt a major blow to the immigrant community by agreeing to join a controversial immigration enforcement program, according to an article by Feet in 2 Worlds.

Paterson, who took office after Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s infamous departure, used his short tenure to support several bills that were lauded for aiding immigrants, creating a pardon panel for legal immigrants subject to deportation and signing a bill into law to help protect the wage rights of domestic workers, a job sector largely populated by immigrants.

To some politicians and immigrant advocates, however, those successes are overshadowed by an agreement that will bring the immigration enforcement program Secure Communities to New York State. That agreement, which was signed in May, was first reported on by Long Island Wins.

Despite a purported mission to apprehend and deport serious criminals, the program has largely focused on low-level criminal offenders, according to deportation records released by several advocacy groups in August.

Of the 46,929 immigrants deported through the program from October 2008 until June of this year, roughly 25 percent did not have a criminal record. In addition, 79 percent of those deported through Secure Communities were either non-criminals or low-level offenders.

Feet in 2 Worlds reports that when criticized for his support of the program, Paterson has been evasive:

Council member Melissa Mark-Viverito, who represents El Barrio and who has led the fight against the presence of ICE at the Rikers Island Jail, considers the fact that Paterson has not yet removed New York from the Secure Communities program a major blot on his record.

“I think that there are certain decisions he made that benefit us [Latinos], but Secure Communities is really important and I don’t think he has helped us in the way that he could,” Mark-Viverito said.

In October, Paterson asked advocacy groups to prove to him that Secure Communities affected low-level offenders, in which case he would reconsider the program. Fernandez said they gathered the information and gave it to the governor, but even so, he didn’t take action.

Feet in 2 Worlds reporter Catalina Jaramillo stresses that Paterson still has time to push back against the program:

The next two weeks will seal Gov. Paterson’s legacy with Latinos. There could be another list of pardons, there could be amendments to the Secure Communities program, or there could be nothing more. Hispanics will be watching.

Photo of Gov. Paterson courtesy of Camera, Lights via Flickr and graphic courtesy of Deportation Nation.

Tags : david paterson, deportation nation, deportation pardons, deportations, feet in 2 worlds, ndlon, new york state, pardon panel, paterson, secure communities