Cuomo Pulls New York From Federal Deportation Program

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced today that he'll be suspending the state's participation in the controversial Secure Communities program, a measure that requires local law enforcement agencies to share the fingerprints of anyone who's been arrested with federal immigration officials, who then check the prints for a person's green card status.

Cuomo's move comes after weeks of mounting pressure from local legislators and immigrant advocacy groups, who say the program is not meeting its supposed goal of deporting serious and violent criminal offenders. Critics point to data showing that since its start in 2008, a majority of the people who have been deported through Secure Communities--some 79 percent--had never actually been convicted of a crime.

Last month, a number of Bronx legislators and others from across the state sent a letter to the governor asking him to withdraw.

"There are concerns about the implementation of the program as well as its impact on families, immigrant communities and law enforcement in New York," Cuomo said in a statement sent out today.

Other states, like Illinois, also dropped out of the program recently.

“Governor Cuomo has demonstrated tremendous leadership," Congressman Jose Serrano, who represents the South Bronx, said in a statement this afternoon.

"He is firmly in line with our state’s pro-immigrant tradition, and on behalf of the immigrants and their friends in our community, I would like to thank him. Having New York State pull back from this aggressive program should be a wakeup call to the Department of Homeland Security. It is time to end this program and I am glad my home state will no longer take part."

The Department of Homeland Security had previously stated that participation was mandatory, but announced this week that there would be an investigation into how the program has been carried out.

"DREAM" Immigration Bill Waits for Senate Vote

Bronx Congressman Jose E. Serrano, in video above, speaks on the House floor last week in favor of the DREAM Act.

A bill that would provide a long-term path to citizenship for young immigrant residents passed in the House of Representatives on Dec. 8, but has since stalled in the Senate, as its supporters try to drum up Republican support for the bill in the hopes of passing it before the year’s end.

The controversial DREAM Act would provide a six-year route to citizenship for young undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country before the age of 16 who have been here for over five years, requiring that they get a college degree or serve at least two years in the military.

Supporters estimate that some 65,000 undocumented students graduate high school each year, but are hindered from attending college or pursuing other career routes because of their citizenship status.

“They have grown up here and it is past time that we recognized that they merit an opportunity to become American citizens,” said Bronx Congressman Jose E. Serrano, who voted in favor of the act.

“As a nation of immigrants, it will be a shame if we cannot even agree that these people deserve a chance to become citizens of what is for many the only country they have known,” he said in a statement.

Immigration reform advocates and liberal lawmakers have been pushing for passage of the bill for a decade, though it has been met with fierce resistance from most Republican representatives and other groups who view it as an amnesty bill for illegal immigrants.