New Yorkers Urge Gov. Cuomo to Withdraw From Flawed Deportation Program

Yesterday evening, hundreds of advocates rallied on the steps of the Arlington, Virginia County Jail to amplify Arlington's decision to reject the flawed deportation program known as "Secure Communities," as well as to push for an end to S-Comm in New York and across the country. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the flawed deportation program is meant to be implemented nationwide by 2013.

"Secure Communities," or S-Comm, has come under severe scrutiny this month. While its stated purpose is to keep communities safe by deporting "serious criminals," S-Comm actually makes communities less secure by creating a climate of fear in which immigrants are afraid to work with the police to report and solve crimes. In many states, new reports indicate that top officials were misled about the program.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn recently decided to withdraw entirely from the program, members of Congress have called for a thorough investigation and moratorium on its expansion, and  California lawmakers just voted to move away from the program as we know it. Now, with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo telling the press that he will make his decision on S-Comm as early as this week, advocates are ramping up the pressure to urge him to withdraw immediately.

Watch Mizue Aizeki from the New York Working Group Against Deportation explain what her coalition has already accomplished and urge concerned community members to spread the word about the petition her group started on Change.org:

As Mizue stated, the petition push comes on the heels of intensifying calls for Cuomo to withdraw from S-Comm. These have come from faith leaders, Latino members of Congress, and over three dozen NY state legislators.

The momentum is building amidst growing controversy after letters from a fired consultant confirm that New York was indeed misled about local departments' ability to opt out of the program. According to New York Daily News, DHS acknowledges that NY officials were likely given a false impression. Udi Ofer of the New York Civil Liberties Union goes a step further to say, "New York State was lied to by the federal government."

So far, over 5,500 Change.org members have joined the call to ask Gov. Cuomo to quit S-Comm in New York. The group is pushing to double that before Cuomo makes up his mind this week, so don't forget to sign the petition and spread the word.