BILL NUMBER: S2429

SPONSOR: KAPLAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the executive law, in relation to providing certain
immigrants with confidential consultation and assistance on potential
petitions for executive clemency

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To provide confidential advice and assistance regarding executive clem-
ency in order to help prevent unjust deportation of immigrants residing
in New York who have prior convictions involving petty crimes and other
non-violent, less serious offenses.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Bill § 1 adds a new paragraph (n) to subdivision 5 of Executive Law §
94-b to make it a power and responsibility of the Office for New Ameri-
cans (ONA) to provide or arrange for confidential consultations with an
              

immigrant who has a prior conviction for one or more offenses or crimes,
other than violent crime s or other crimes of a serious nature that
might justify deportation of such individual, on the potential avail-
ability of executive clemency, and to provide or arrange for assistance
with the filing of petitions where appropriate.

Bill § 2 provides that notwithstanding any other provision of law,
unless disclosure is required by lawful court order, no personally-iden-
tifiable information obtained by ONA or its agents for the purpose of
confidential consultation and assistance related to a potential petition
for executive clemency shall be disclosed to any other person or entity
without the consent of the individual to whom such information pertains.

 
EFFECTS OF PRESENT LAW WHICH THIS BILL WOULD ALTER:

Anyone may petition for executive clemency, but there is no current
process for screening applicants convicted of minor offenses that might
be used in deportation proceedings.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This bill would help protect of immigrants, whether of undocumented or
legal status, with prior records involving petty offenses for which
deportation would be an unjust additional penalty. Recent changes in
Federal immigration policy permit the targeting of immigrants with minor
offenses that previously had been low priorities for immigration
enforcement. As a result, long-time community members are being deported
for old convictions of minor offenses which in many cases did not even
result in any jail time, such as unlicensed driving, shoplifting, tres-
passing or traffic violations.

The existing Constitutional power of executive clemency can be used to
stop such unjust deportations in some cases. In fact, the form currently
used for pardon requests includes specific sections for supplying immi-
gration-related information. In prior years the pardon power has been
used to prevent deportation in a few cases, but dues to changes in poli-
cy at the Federal level this aspect of the process needs to be made more
visible and effective.
In 2010, the previous Governor instituted a Special Immigration Board of
Pardons which was specifically charged with reviewing clemency requests
made to prevent deportations. This bill would create a similar process
that draws upon ONA, an agency created since that time, in order to take
advantage of its linkages to the immigrant community and to legal
service providers with expertise in immigration law. ONA would provide
consultation and help with clemency petitions, either directly or via
arrangements with publicly-funded or non-profit organizations or pro
bono counsel.

Due to the complexities of immigration law, not all pardons are accepta-
ble as precluding deportation. Therefore, a confidential process is
needed to evaluate and assist potential deportees as to whether seeking
clemency would be advisable in their specific case.  This bill provides
for the complete confidentiality of all personally-identifiable informa-
tion obtained in the process of consultation and assistance, unless
waived by the individual to whom it pertains.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

A. 8037 of 2017,2018- Referred to Governmental Operations

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Sixtieth day after becoming law.