(The Center Square) — A New York City investigator violated the city’s “sanctuary” laws by providing details about immigrants held in city jails, according to a new watchdog report.
The report, released Thursday by the New York City Department of Investigation, concluded that an investigator assigned to the Homeland Security Investigations Violent Gang Task Force helped Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers apprehend at least two criminal suspects sought for immigration enforcement, in violation of city law and the Department of Corrections policy.
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The department’s report concluded that the investigator, who wasn’t identified, had “unwittingly” violated the city sanctuary laws by assisting ICE agents in turning the suspects over to federal custody. It criticized the DOC for failing to provide proper guidance and training to correctional officers about the city’s policies on cooperating with federal agencies.
“New York City law and DOC policy do not allow city resources to be used for the purpose of facilitating the enforcement of federal immigration law, and that prohibition includes the sharing of information with our federal law enforcement partners for that purpose,” DOI Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber said in a statement.
“These laws and related policies restrict local authorities’ ability to share information about an individual’s immigration status, bar local law enforcement from honoring ICE detainers, and prohibit City agencies from assisting with civil immigration enforcement under certain circumstances,” she added.
One of the suspects the investigator helped turn over to ICE agents was Cristian Conception, a Venezuelan migrant who had been sent to Rikers Island jail in connection with the stabbing in a Brooklyn shelter last year, according to investigators. He was charged with entering the country illegally and sent to a federal immigration detention facility in February, according to the report.
The White House touted Conception’s apprehension by federal authorities in a social media post that accused him of belonging to Tren de Aragua, a notorious Venezuelan street gang.
“Why is the government of New York City complaining about law enforcement working together to remove Tren de Aragua gang associates?” Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement. :This is one of the most vicious gangs on planet earth. They rape, maim and murder for sport.”
But Thursday’s report said Conception was serving time on a charge of Assault in the 3rd Degree, which didn’t meet the city’s definition of a “violent or serious crime” that would allow DOC officials to turn him over to federal authorities.
“Immigration authorities did not present either a civil immigration detainer or a judicial warrant, both of which are prerequisites for local authorities to provide assistance when other criteria also are met – namely that the subject of the detainer or warrant be convicted of a violent or serious crime,” the report said.
The agency’s report Thursday didn’t reveal systematic violations of the sanctuary laws, but called on the DOC to conduct a deeper investigation to determine if other similar violations are occurring at city-run jails.
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New York City was sued by the Department of Justice in July over its “sanctuary” policies that restrict cooperation with federal immigration crackdowns, accusing the city of shielding wanted criminals from deportation proceedings.
The DOJ also sued New York state in February over a state law that limits state cooperation with federal immigration authorities and again in June over the Protect Our Courts Act, which the DOJ said “shields dangerous aliens from being lawfully detained” and violates the Constitution by obstructing federal immigration operations. All those cases are still pending.