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Cuomo suspends Secure Communities program

Jun 02, 2011 12:38 pm
WGXC's Mariel Fiori and Antonio Flores-Lobos interviewed Betsy Palmieri, Dir. Of Hudson Valley Community Coalition Thursday morning on the WGXC Morning Show, about how Gov. Andrew Cuomo Wed. June 1 suspended participation in the Federal Secure Communities Program. The program is being suspended because of, "mounting evidence that the program is not meeting its stated goal and has serious consequences for witnesses, victims of crime and law enforcement," according to a press release from the Governor's office. "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 the press release. Celeste Katz in The New York Daily News writes, "States in the program automatically send the fingerprints of everyone booked to Homeland Security. Federal officials say it helps locate and deport dangerous criminals. But critics charged the program results in the detention and deportation of undocumented immigrants before they are even charged with a serious crime - much less convicted." Illinois pulled out of the program a few days ago, and now New York is out too .Palmieri talks about the program's impact on the Hudson Valley. Palmieri speaks about the program in the Hudson Valley. Click here to listen to mp3 audio recording of the interview.