Nassau County executive jumps at chance to help ICE deport ‘criminal' migrants - chof 360 news

Nassau County police will be granted federal authority to help arrest and deport undocumented criminal migrants under an agreement with the Trump administration, according to Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.

Under the arrangement,  US Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE will delegate authority to ten Nassau Police detectives the power to enforce immigration law.

Blakeman said these detectives will also perform other policing duties but will be called to help ICE when asked. He also said that these ten detectives will not be seeking criminal migrants without ICE directing them. But he did say these Nassau detectives would be "embedded" with ICE while they take into custody criminal migrants.

The county says it will receive federal funding for helping with immigration enforcement.

Blakeman said he believes this is the first program of its kind of this size in the United States.

The county says they will detain a suspected criminal migrant for up to 72 hours and will also give ICE a permanent presence at the county jail.  

Acting deputy field office director for ICE Bryan Flanagan said, “By providing 72-hour-bed space, Nassau County will enable ICE to house and transfer potentially dangerous offenders in a safe and secure environment.”

While Blakeman said at a news conference this would only be for migrants who have committed crimes, he was not able to ensure that undocumented migrants with no criminal offenses would be protected if there is a round up or a raid. 

"This is targeted enforcement of our laws based here in the state of New York, people who have committed crimes here and have violated federal laws by being in the United States illegally," Blakeman said.

This new partnership allows Nassau Police to alert ICE when they arrest an undocumented immigrant.

“If we make an arrest and I’m going to let someone out on an appearance ticket because of no bail at my station house, I will be notifying ICE that that individual is here undocumented and they will be able to come and pick that individual up," Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said.

"We have and always will have partnerships with our federal partners," Ryder said.

Nassau is not being shy about their role in deportations while other municipalities have shied away from taking an active role.

Claudia Borecky from the South Shore Women's Alliance protested today's announcement saying "there are children not going to school, there are people who are afraid they will be picked up at work. These are our undocumented neighbors."

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