Advocacy

IDP Celebrates House Passage of Legislation to End Federal Marijuana Prohibition

April 1, 2022 NEW YORK—Today the House of Representatives passed the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, legislation that would deschedule and decriminalize cannabis, resentence federal convictions, and take a major step toward ending collateral consequences for cannabis-related activity, including immigration consequences. On the passage of the bill, Immigrant Defense Project’s (IDP) Supervising Attorney Benita Jain said, “For decades, … Read more »

IDP Statement: 170 Organizations Send Letter to DHS Secretary Defending Local Policies that Protect Immigrant Communities

March 29, 2022 Washington, D.C. – Scores of immigrant rights, community-based and legal advocacy organizations today sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas calling on him to reverse course on his attempts to undermine local policies that protect immigrant communities and urging him to follow through on promises to end existing programs that entangle localities with … Read more »

IDP Statement: NY Immigrant Rights Advocates Tell Gov Hochul: Don’t Roll Back Bail Reform

March 28, 2022 NEW YORK– Thirty immigrant rights community-based and legal advocacy organizations called on New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin not to proceed with their plan to rollback bail reform and warned that expanding criminalization and incarceration will increase harm to Black, Latinx and immigrant New Yorkers. The letter highlights the positive impacts that the … Read more »

Sen. Salazar, AM Reyes Announce Legislation to Keep State, Local Agencies from Conspiring with ICE

ALBANY – Senator Julia Salazar and Assembly Member Karines Reyes, joined by members of the immigrant advocacy, faith, and public health communities came together today to announce The New York for All Act, which prohibits state and local government officials, including police and sheriffs, from diverting personnel and resources or disclosing sensitive information to assist federal immigration enforcement. The New York for All … Read more »

IDP Statement on President Biden’s Executive Orders

February 2, 2021 As we awaken from the nightmare of Trump’s presidency, we are relieved to see President Biden responding to years of organizing against the racism and xenophobia that has fueled immigration policing, detention and deportation over the last four years.  President Biden’s executive orders on immigration represent an important acknowledgment that the current immigration system’s policies and practices … Read more »

Broken Windows Policing

The widespread criminalization of a wide range of activities through NYPD’s broken windows or quality-of-life policing practices has steadily driven up rates of arrests for violations and misdemeanors in New York City since the 1980s. Because the immigration system is extremely unforgiving, for non-citizens even a violation or misdemeanor can lead to detention and deportation. To help defend against these consequences and protect … Read more »

Strategic Research Initiatives

In this era of mass deportation, where immigrants with convictions have been singled out by DHS as a primary target for deportation, IDP works to develop and expand strategies to identify opportunities to expand rights within the criminal legal system. Working in close collaboration with allies, IDP researches multiple points of intervention — including local, state, and federal policy, as well … Read more »

Ending ICE/Police Entanglement: From Street Encounter to Custody

Background At the Street Encounter: Datasharing At Arrest: Fingerprint Data Sent to ICE In Custody: Training and Supporting Defenders In City Custody: Ending Collaboration Between ICE and Police and Jails In the Community: Ending ICE Arrests at the Home and Beyond Background The U.S. government today detains and deports noncitizens at historically unprecedented levels, and during the Obama administration, immigrants … Read more »

How ICE Interacts with the Criminal Legal System

The U.S. today detains and deports noncitizens at historically unprecedented levels, and immigrants with criminal convictions are one of the key targets for mass deportation. Harsh immigration laws passed in 1996 combined with a political climate that brands immigrants with convictions as a threat to public safety puts millions at risk of detention and deportation. IDP works to distangle immigration and the … Read more »

Fighting for People With Criminal Convictions and Formerly Imprisoned People

As immigrants with convictions are increasingly vilified and targeted for deportation, IDP works with a broad range of allies to develop campaigns around strategic reforms within the criminal justice system that will reduce both incarceration and its collateral consequences on immigrants. IDP works in coalition with organizations focused on policing, such as Communities United for Police Reform, to provide general support for advocacy … Read more »