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History
- Referred to finance
- Referred to finance
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BILL NUMBER:S3234
Title of bill
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to prohibiting state and local law enforcement agencies from enforcing federal immigration laws
Purpose or general idea of bill
Limits law enforcement agencies from investigating immigration statuses of individuals whose only violation is of federal immigration laws in Title 8 of the United States code.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISION
Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 844 to read as follows:
A law enforcement agency of the state or a political subdivision of the state shall not use state funds, equipment, personnel or resources or accept or utilize federal funds, equipment, personnel or resources for the purpose of detecting or apprehending persons whose only violation of law is that they are persons of foreign citizenship who have entered or are residing in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws in Title B of the United States code.
Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Justification
A September 29, 2010 letter to President Obama respectfully requested the federal government end its attempt to merge local law enforcement functions into enforcement of federal immigration law. Among other arguments, the signatories, along with the National Immigration Law Center, stated that when law enforcement agencies are tasked with immigration duties, crime-reporting decreases in immigrant communities, since victims and witnesses are motivated to remain in the shadows rather than come forward and testify. Immigrants learn to fear contact with the police, which means they are less likely to cooperate in investigations. In addition, requiring police to perform immigration duties diverts police attention from their primary role of ensuring community safety. Once immigrants learn that reporting crimes will result in a check of their own immigration status, they are reluctant to call the police even when they are in danger.
In addition, a 2006 study by the Congressional Research Service found that there was "high risk for civil rights violations... if state and local police do not obtain the requisite knowledge, training, and experience in dealing with the enforcement of immigration laws. Moreover, suspects of immigration violations may become victims of 'racial profiling'...."
The report went on to discuss that state and local law enforcement should not be used to fund federal responsibilities. Such actions would result in a reduction of resources available for the policing a community which is the principal responsibility of these agencies. Beyond the increased cost to the state and local enforcement there is fear that this shift could lead to a de-emphasis on certain types of criminal investigations in an effort to focus on enforcing immigration
law, which would divert law enforcement authorities' from their primary duties.
Prior legislative history
2011-12: S.3372 - Referred to Finance
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.