Since 2011, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project has been hard at work with a coalition of organizations in New York City, the Anti-Violence Advocates Against Deportation Coalition, to shine a light and put a stop on the abuse caused by ICE’s collaboration with local law enforcement in New York. Last week, SRLP Director of Outreach and Community Engagement Juana Peralta testified at City Hall at New York City Council’s Committee on Immigration in support of a new detainer bill that seeks to limit any cooperation between city law enforcement and ICE. The testimony, based on a letter signed by 14 organizations that form the coalition, details the chilling effects that any collusion between the city of New York and the Department of Homeland Security disproportionately has on trans, gender non-conforming, and intersex folks who are low-income and people of color, already disproportionately targeted by the state.
Our coalition advocates for “survivors of domestic. intimate partner violence, family violence, human trafficking, sexual assault, other forms of gender-based, homophobic and transphobic violence, and discrimination against individuals living with HIV.” The coalition encourages the City to continue to take a stand and refuse to honor detainers. The continued collusion between the City and “a rigid and extremely harsh immigration system” has only served to “undermine the our work on both policing and immigration, and our efforts to protect our communities. It has perpetuated rather than promoted violence.”
SRLP will continue to work towards eliminating any presence of ICE in our communities, and dismantling our criminal legal system, and working toward liberation for all.
To read the statement, visit: http://srlp.org/anti-violence-advocates-against-deportation-statement-at-ny-city-council-committee-on-immigration-hearing-on-101514/
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