by Mona Iskander
NARR: In October of 2003, Lynden Corrice, a legal resident from Guyana, was arrested for possession and use of marijuana. He pled guilty and was convicted and sent to Riker's Island for a two-week sentence. He thought he'd return to his family in Brooklyn but instead, INS agents sent him to an immigration detention center in Louisiana and he may face deportation. Five months later, his wife, Carol McDonald says that its been hardest on their 7-year-old daughter.
ACT: MCDONALD 6:45 its very hard without my husband right now.. he used to pick up my daughter he did most with her... and now she misses him so much. now she's acting up in school bc they were so close.
NARR: In 1996, a series of immigration laws was passed which stated that legal residents may face detention and deportation for minor crimes. McDonald is now working with Friends for Families, an immigrant rights group in NY. Aarti Shahani, an organizer for the group says that cases like Corrice's are increasingly common, the difference now is the length they spend in detention.
ACT: SHAHANI13:12 prior to 911, its very unlikely someone like him would be detained for so long w/o bond. no judge would consider him risk of flt. or risk to society. he has a life here...
NARR: And Shahani says that with proposed national legislation called the CLEAR act, things could worsen for immigrants. The bill would require local police to enforce immigration laws while they are out doing their regular duties.
ACT: SHAHANI: 16:25 what i think is really dangerous about giving local law enforcement more authority is it gives local enforc. the incentive to target immigrants. the larger the punishment the more successful your work so if you can get jailtime and deportation, its a bigger win and i think we really have to be careful how we incentive enforcement.
NARR: Some police associations also object to the bill. Anthony Miranda, of the National Latino Officers Association says that officers want to do good work and connect with the people in the neighborhoods where they work. There is already a dangerous rift between police and immigrants and he says it will only worsen if the bill passes.
ACT: MIRANDA so if there's a fear now that they can't come and get assistance from police officers, its gonna take a long time to get that confidence back.
NARR: But supporters of the bill, like Craig Nelson of Friends of Immigration Law Enforcement, say that there should be no distinction between local and federal law enforcement.
ACT: NELSON: 3/2:40 what other laws do they think police can just disregard. can they just decide that laws against child prostitution, that some police can opt out?.. of course not, we're a country.. we're not a serious of tribes just wandering around in a forest somewhere. we've got a country with federal body and when they pass laws, they pass them for the country.
NARR: Meanwhile, Carol McDonald waits nervously in Brooklyn with her daughter. In April, Lynden's case will be brought before a judge and he will either be sent to Guyana or return home to New York.
For Columbia Radio News, I'm Mona Iskander