NYC Bill Summaries for Intro. 486 & 487
On October 7, New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Council Members Daniel Dromm, Rafael Espinal and Immigration Committee Chair Carlos Menchaca filed anti-detainer legislation, Introduction 0487-2014 (police department) and 0486-2014 (Department of Corrections).
New York Introduction (Intro.) 486 and Intro. 487 prohibit all city law enforcement officials in the New York City Department of Corrections and New York Police Department from honoring federal detainer requests for any alien otherwise eligible for release from custody. A detainer request is a notification to state or local law enforcement agencies that a federal agency, such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), seeks custody of a particular alien for the purpose of removal from the United States.
If Intro. 486 and Intro. 487 are enacted, New York City officials will have no choice but to release criminal aliens — most of whom have no right to be in the United States — back onto the streets in spite of their immigration status and the crimes they committed.
Intro. 487
Under Intro. 487, an official in the NYPD may only respond to a federal detainer request after an alien becomes eligible for release from custody if the alien meets the following criteria:
- The alien has ever been convicted of a serious or violent crime, such as burglary, extortion, arson, or kidnapping, within the past five years, or is identified as a potential match in the federal government’s Terrorist Watchlist; AND
- ICE provided the NYPD with a judicial warrant for the alien or the alien has been previously deported.
Lastly, Intro. 487 requires the NYPD to post, no later than September 30, 2015, and no later than September 30 each subsequent year, a report on the NYPD’s website that includes the following information:
- A breakdown of the total number of federal detainer requests lodged with the Department;
- A breakdown of the total number of aliens held pursuant to federal detainer requests;
- The total number of aliens transferred to the custody of federal immigration authorities; AND
- The total number of federal detainer requests not honored pursuant to Intro. 487.
Intro. 486
Under Intro. 486, an official in the New York City Department of Corrections may only respond to a federal detainer request after an alien becomes eligible for release from custody if the alien meets all of the following criteria:
- ICE has provided the Department of Corrections with a judicial warrant for the alien; AND
- The alien has ever been convicted of a serious or violent crime, such as burglary, extortion, arson, or kidnapping, within the past five years, or is identified as a potential match in the federal government’s Terrorist Watchlist.
Intro. 486 also prohibits the Department of Correction officials from expending time while on duty or expending department resources of any kind to disclose information that belongs to the Department or is available to them only in their official capacity, in response to federal immigration inquires or in communicating with federal immigration authorities regarding any individual’s incarceration status, release date, or court appearance dates, unless such repose or communication:
- Relates to a person convicted of a violent or serious crime or identified as a potential match in the Terrorist Watchlist;
- Is unrelated to the enforcement of immigration law; OR
- Is otherwise required by law.
Intro. 486 also prohibits federal immigration authorities from maintaining an office or quarters on land over which the Department of Corrections exercises jurisdiction, for the purpose of investigating possible violations of civil immigration law. Intro. 486 grants the Mayor authorization to, by executive order, authorize federal immigration authorities to maintain an office or quarters on such land for purposes unrelated to the enforcement of civil immigration law.
Lastly, Intro. 486 requires the Department of Corrections to post, no later than September 30, 2015, and no later than September 30 each subsequent year, a report on the Department’s website that includes the following information:
- A breakdown of the total number of federal detainer requests lodged with the Department, organized by reason;
- A breakdown of the total number of aliens held pursuant to federal detainer requests, organized by reason;
- The total number of aliens transferred to the custody of federal immigration authorities;
- The total number of aliens transferred to the custody of federal immigration authorities pursuant to civil immigration detainers who had at least one conviction on a serious or violent crime;
- The number of aliens transferred to the custody of federal immigration authorities pursuant to civil immigration detainers that had convictions for a serious or violent crime and were identified as possible matches in the Terrorist Watchlist;
- The amount of state criminal alien assistance funding requested and received from the federal government;
- The number of individuals for whom civil immigration detainers were not honored; AND
- The number of aliens held pursuant to civil immigration detainers beyond the time when such aliens would otherwise have been released from the Department’s custody who were not transferred to the custody of federal immigration authorities either because of the expiration of the forty-eight-hour hold period provided in 8 C.F.R. 287.7 or because federal immigration authorities disavowed an intention to assume custody.