I wonder if the Brooklyn district attorney’s office is familiar with 8 U.S. Code § 1324?
(NY Times) The Brooklyn district attorney’s office, promising to seek “equal and fair justice†for the borough’s vulnerable foreign-born residents, has created a policy that tailors prosecutions to avoid, when possible, the deportation or detention of immigrants charged with certain misdemeanors or nonviolent crimes.
The policy, which was to be announced officially on Monday, calls for hundreds of Brooklyn prosecutors to notify defense lawyers about the potential immigration consequences of their clients’ cases and to try, without compromising public safety, to prosecute foreign-born defendants to achieve what the district attorney’s office describes as an “immigration-neutral disposition.†(snip)
The policy being adopted in Brooklyn seeks to mitigate the effects of criminal prosecutions of immigrants by ordering prosecutors there to do what they can to secure guilty pleas without invoking federal laws that could lead to detention or deportation, or could cause trouble for those hoping to obtain full citizenship.
What they’re attempting to do is shield illegal aliens from being noticed by federal authorities when they’ve committed a crime, as well as refusing to notify federal authorities when an illegal has been caught
1324(a)(1)(A) Any person who—
(iii) knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that an alien has come to, entered, or remains in the United States in violation of law, conceals, harbors, or shields from detection, or attempts to conceal, harbor, or shield from detection, such alien in any place, including any building or any means of transportation;
(iv)encourages or induces an alien to come to, enter, or reside in the United States, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that such coming to, entry, or residence is or will be in violation of law; or
A violation of either can result in a fine and/or imprisonment for up to 5 years. If the illegal causes bodily harm to someone and/or places someone’s life in jeopardy, the “person” can be fined and/or imprisoned up to 20 years. If the illegal causes a death? Life imprisonment. This could be the fate of the Brooklyn DA and any others who cooperate while they’re attempting to shield people who are in violation of federal immigration law for “minor crimes”
Schaumburg murder suspect’s prior crimes deportable under new Trump policy
When Bulmaro Mejia-Maya, now a suspect in the slaying of Tiffany Thrasher of Schaumburg, pleaded guilty in 2013 to a charge of misdemeanor battery, he avoided the radar of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
At that time, the minor conviction was not enough to jeopardize the Mexican native’s permanent resident status or enough for the government to revoke his valid green card, federal authorities said.
Today, that conviction would make him eligible for deportation.
When President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 13768 in late February, it broadened Obama-era priorities of immigration agents targeting undocumented immigrants convicted of serious crimes to targeting all immigrants convicted of any offense, no matter how small.
Maya is exactly the type of person the Brooklyn DA’s office is looking to protect. Just a minor crime. Right up till Maya sexually assaulted then murdered Ms. Schaumburg. He is also wanted for failing to appear in Utah on drug charges. And, he’s a flight risk, having turned himself in in Florida after fleeing Illinois.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions should explain the consequences of 8 U.S. Code 1324 to the Brooklyn DA’s office.
Crossed at Right Wing News.
