Serrano Expresses Disappointment Re: S-Comm Decision in Letter to ICE

CLICK HERE to read full text of letter

(New York, NY)- New York State Senator José M. Serrano (D-Manhattan/Bronx) today sent a letter to John Morton, Director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to express his disappointment in the agency's decision to require the implementation of the Secure Communities program, even in those states that have chosen to opt out. 

"It sends a dishearteningly negative message to the public when the response of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to the states and localities that have chosen to terminate their participation in the program is to issue very limited reforms, to unilaterally make all [Memorandums of Agreement] meaningless and to mandatorily impose this program on our communities," wrote Serrano.

His letter comes after ICE released a series of minor reforms to S-Comm in June 2011, which failed to address the concerns of local leaders and advocates. Last week, ICE sent a statement to states, announcing that they are terminating all Memorandums of Agreement, and mandating that Secure Communities be implemented across the board.

Serrano, who in May led a sign-on letter to Governor Cuomo to which 50 legislators signed on, urging him to opt out of the controversial program, concluded: "The answer to repairing our failed immigration system does not lie in making adjustments to a program that is fundamentally flawed. S-Comm poses a serious threat to the safety and well-being of our communities, and must be terminated immediately."

 
CLICK HERE to read full text of letter