Secure Communities: Know Your Rights

Transcription

1 Secure Communities: Know Your Rights The New York Immigration Coalition MinKwon Center for Community Action La Unión El Centro del Inmigrante Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights

2 Know Your Rights This booklet tells you about your basic rights when encountering law enforcement. This information is for all members of the community regardless of immigration status. What is Stop & Frisk? The police may stop and briefly detain you only if there is reasonable suspicion that you committed, are committing, or about to commit a crime. If police believe you pose a danger, they can pat you down. This is called a frisk. If police ask you questions, you have the right to remain silent and you can politely say, I would like to remain silent. You do not have to answer questions about your immigration status if police question you. If an officer asks you to empty your pockets, you do not have to do it. If they search you, you can politely and calmly tell police I do not consent to this search. You have the right to an attorney paid for by the government in your criminal case and you have the right to make a phone call. You can call a family member or friend, a lawyer, your country s consulate. 2

3 Things to remember THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN STOPPED BY THE POLICE Be polite and stay calm Never lie to ICE or police Do not carry fake IDs Do not reveal your immigration status Don t get into an argument with the police Keep your hands where police can see them Don t run from police or touch a police officer Do not make any statements regarding the incident If you are arrested, ask for a lawyer immediately IF YOU ARE ARRESTED OR TAKEN TO A POLICE STATION... YOU have the right to remain silent YOU have the right to talk to a lawyer before you talk to the police YOU do not have to sign anything This booklet is not a substitute for legal advice. You should contact an attorney if you have been arrested or believe that your rights have been violated. 3

4 Secure Communities Secure Communities will only affect you if you are arrested for a crime. If you call the police because you are a victim of a crime or need help in the case of an emergency, Secure Communities is not intended to apply to you. As of May 15, 2012, every county in New York State is participating in Secure Communities, or SComm. This means that anyone arrest ed will have their fingerprints automatically sent to immigration officials when they go through what is known as the booking process. Booking is the way in which law enforcement creat es an official arrest record. The process generally involves photographing, fingerprinting, and recording identifying dat a from the person being arrest ed. How does Secure Communities work? Under Secure Communities, the Department of Homeland Security will then run your fingerprints through its database to determine whether you can be deported. If there is a match in a DHS databank, immigration authorities may then issue a detainer. What is S-Comm? Secure Communities is a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) program designed to identify immigrants in U.S. jails who are deportable under immigration law. Under S-Comm, participating jails submit arrest ees fingerprints not only to criminal databases, but to immigration dat abases as well, allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) access to information on individuals held in jails. 4

5 Detainers A detainer is a request from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to local law enforcement officials asking that they hold an inmate in custody even after the criminal case is over. How does it work? Law enforcement agencies that participate in Secure Communities will send the fingerprints of all individuals arrested to ICE databases, and in the case of a match in their database, ICE issues a detainer. Within 48 hours of the time an individual would otherwise be released from local custody, he or she may be transferred into immigration custody and placed into deportation proceedings. How long can a person be held? If ICE does not take custody within 48 hours (not including weekends and holidays) of the time a person is required to be released from criminal custody, the state/local law enforcement agency is required to release the individual. A person who is detained beyond 48 hours from the time he or she should have been released from criminal custody should immediately inform the local law enforcement agency that it is in violation of the law governing detainers. Will a detainer impact bail? Every individual who has been charged with a crime has the right to have a judge determine whether they can be released from jail in their criminal case regardless of their immigration status or whether a detainer has been issued against them. ICE detainers are not reliable indicators of a person s immigration status or whether s/he will be deported. In most cases, the immigration detainer should not impact state bail determinations. There is always the chance that the judge will deny bail or increase bail due to a detainer. 5

6 Limits on Detainers in NYC In November 2011, the New York City Council and Mayor Michael Bloomberg enact ed a law that limits the authority of the New York City Department of Correction to honor immigration detainers for certain immigrants in jail. Under what circumstances will the Department of Correction not honor immigration detainers? Pursuant to Local Law 2011/062, if a civil immigration detainer is placed on an inmate it will not be honored by the Department unless the inmate: Has been convicted of a crime Is a defendant in a pending criminal case Has an outstanding criminal warrant in New York State or another jurisdiction in the United Stat es Has been identified as a known gang member in the appropriate federal database or a possible match in the terrorist screening database and/or Has an outstanding warrant of removal from the US or has previously been subject to a final order of removal from the United Stat es 6

7 What to do if you or a loved one are stopped by police or detained Important Resources to Find Individuals in Detention ICE Buffalo: (716) ICE NYC: (212) ICE Washington DC: (202) Detainer Hotline: (855) Online: How do I find someone in detention? When trying to locate someone in ICE custody, you will need their Alien Registration Number ( A-Number ) issued by ICE. The A- numbers consists of 8 or 9 digits. This should appear in your immigration or detention documents. Here are some resources to help find an attorney: New York Immigration Hotline: ; NYIC Legal Service Directory: 7

8 West 25 th St, 12 th Fl New York, NY Tel: LOCAL CONTACTS: MinKwon Center for Community Action st Avenue, 3rd Floor Flushing, NY Tel: La Union 621 Degraw St. Brooklyn, NY Tel: El Centro del Inmigrante 1546 Castleton Ave Staten Island, NY Tel: Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights 665 West 182nd Street, Ground Floor New York, New York Tel: