Bill Requires Cops To Report Arrests To Immigration
by john toscano
Citing two serious crimes occurring in Northeast Queens that were committed by illegal immigrants, state Senator Frank Padavan authored a bill requiring state and local police to verify and report the citizenship status of persons arrested under state law. The bill was passed by the senate April 19.
"I want to know that these people are being referred to the proper federal authorities and that steps are being taken to get them out of this country," Padavan declared.
"This isn’t about profiling," he stated. "It’s about taking people already being charged with a crime and checking out their immigration status."
One of the cases alluded to by Padavan (R–C, Bellerose) was the recent arrest of a large group of Colombian immigrants "here illegally," Padavan said, who have been charged with more than 300 house burglaries in Flushing, Whitestone, Bayside and other affluent Northeast Queens communities.
Padavan noted, "a number of them had prior arrest records." During one of the robberies, he added, "a woman was raped in her own home while her children slept."
The veteran lawmaker also stated, "There is no indication that any of the 52 arrested individuals associated with these robberies have been referred to the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This is outrageous."
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http://www.qgazette.com/news/2004/0505/Front_Page/002.html