House report: NYC prosecutors shield illegal immigrants from deportation

Summarised from 2 outlets · 3 reports · Updated 28 Oct, 10:20 · Archive

New York City prosecutors have been instructing staff to downgrade charges to avoid deporting noncitizen defendants, a House Judiciary Committee report claims.

A House Judiciary Committee report claims that New York City prosecutors from all five boroughs have been instructing staff to downgrade charges for noncitizen defendants to prevent deportation, describing the practice as 'immigration-conscious plea bargaining'.

The GOP-led committee found that Bronx DA Darcel Clark's office trains prosecutors to 'conceal facts from the record of conviction' and pursue alternative charges. Internal materials from the Bronx DA's office instruct prosecutors to leave references to firearms and victim relationships out of conviction records. In cases involving child victims, prosecutors are told to pursue charges that do not specify the ages of victims. The report claims Clark's office has even instructed prosecutors to charge foreign nationals with 'nonexistent, legally impossible' crimes, citing the example of 'attempted reckless assault'. In Queens, DA Melinda Katz has told prosecutors to 'exercise extreme caution' and 'not get caught up in the label of felonies, misdemeanors' for illegal aliens. Staten Island DA Michael McMahon has an Immigrant Affairs and Collateral Consequences Unit.

The report references the 2020 murder of 92-year-old Maria Fuertes by Guyanese migrant Reeaz Khan after a federal detainer was lodged against him. Katz's office later secured a 22 years to life sentence against Khan. The committee examined policies across all five boroughs, the NYPD and Department of Correction.

How it is being reported

• NYC DAs shielding illegal-immigrant thugs only puts innocent lives at riskA new report from the House Judiciary Committee warns that Gotham DAs are downgrading charges for illegal-immigrant criminals in order to help them avoid deportation.New York Post · 28 Oct, 10:00
• House report says NYC prosecutors tailored plea deals to shield illegal immigrants from deportationHouse Judiciary Committee claims New York City district attorneys trained prosecutors to craft immigration-safe plea deals for noncitizen defendants.Fox News · 27 Oct, 16:39
• Bronx and Queens DAs urge prosecutors to downgrade charges to keep illegal immigrants in US, House GOP report findsWASHINGTON — New York City’s elected Democratic district attorneys are bending over backwards to keep illegal immigrants in the US, instructing prosecutors to downgrade charges to those considered “a non-deportable offense,” according to a stunning House Judiciary Committee report shared with The Post. The GOP-led panel found that Bronx DA Darcel Clark trains her subordinates...New York Post · 26 Oct, 21:07

In this story: Darcel Clark · Melinda Katz · Michael McMahon · Reeaz Khan · House Judiciary Committee · New York City · Bronx · Queens

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