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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Scott Foletta, Interim Managing Attorney of Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem on NYPD's Gang Database and Its Impact on Immigrants
4:02:20
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Scott Foletta, representing the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, testifies about the dangers of the NYPD's gang database for immigrant New Yorkers. He highlights how ICE has used gang allegations to target and deport immigrants, especially during the Trump administration, and argues for the abolition of the database to protect New York's immigrant community.
- Foletta explains how gang allegations, even without proof, can trigger deportation for undocumented immigrants and deny immigration benefits.
- He warns about the Trump administration's plans to label gang-associated individuals as terrorists and apply anti-terrorism laws against them.
- The testimony emphasizes that abolishing the database is the only way to prevent immigrant information from being used by ICE for deportation purposes.
Scott Foletta
4:02:20
Good afternoon.
4:02:21
My name is Scott Foletta and I am the interim managing attorney for the immigration defense team at the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem.
4:02:29
I would like to speak today about the particular dangers of the gang database bill for immigrant New Yorkers.
4:02:36
During the previous Trump administration, ICE used the specter of gangs as a means to depict all immigrants as dangerous.
4:02:43
Allegations of gang membership were levied indiscriminately against Central American young men to deport them in sweeps, and the validity of the allegations did not matter, only the administration's ability to claim that it was deporting as many individuals associated with the gang as possible.
4:03:00
This time around, the Trump administration is going even further by labeling those who already have the gang association label on them as terrorists And applying anti terrorism laws against them, these are laws that have very low burdens of proof and very high penalties.
4:03:17
Members of the military, federal agencies such as the DEA and FBI, and even the National Guard of Red States are being activated to create a massive deportation force, which the administration is threatening to unleash on sanctuary cities like New York.
4:03:31
And with the Trump administration threatening to expand criminal prosecutions for things such as simply failing to register on an annual basis, the department's statements earlier today that they were only going to cooperate with ICE in cases where there is a criminal prosecution give me no comfort.
4:03:50
When a gang allegation gets into ICE's hands, it alone can trigger deportation.
4:03:56
If a person is undocumented, ICE does not have to prove that they have engaged in any criminal activity in order to deport them.
4:04:02
And, and the allegations alone have been used to deny people bond and deny immigration benefits such as asylum and special immigrant juvenile status.
4:04:12
The last Trump administration struggled to find enough noncitizens with criminal convictions to support its narrative of depicting immigrants as dangerous, so it instead relied on allegations.
4:04:22
The only way to protect New Yorker young New Yorkers from their information getting into ICE's hands is abolition of the database.
4:04:31
Thank you.