(NEW YORK) — An officer from the New York City Department of Correction gave federal immigration agents information about someone believed to have entered the country illegally, a violation of the city’s sanctuary laws, investigators said Thursday.
The New York City Department of Investigation said a correction officer assigned to a federal violent gang task force provided the information but was not aware it would be used as part of civil immigration enforcement. City policy would allow information sharing as part of a criminal investigation.
The officer provided information about Cristian Concepcion, who was believed to have entered the country illegally, officials said. While investigating that allegation, the DOI also found that the officer, who was not named, provided information to federal immigration authorities about another person in custody, Pedro Mujica Villa Nueva, officials said.
The officer “did not understand that the assistance he provided was in furtherance of federal civil immigration enforcement, as opposed to a federal criminal investigation,” the Department of Investigation said, which resulted from “a lack of training and guidance” from his superiors.
“New York City law and DOC policy do not allow City resources to be used for the purpose of facilitating the enforcement of federal immigration law, and that prohibition includes the sharing of information with our federal law enforcement partners for that purpose. DOI found that in at least two instances a DOC investigator unwittingly violated the law and DOC policy and that DOC failed to provide proper guidance and training to DOC staff about how to comply with City law and DOC’s own policy while maintaining critical law enforcement partnerships with federal agencies,” Department of Investigation Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber said.
Strauber recommended an audit of the Department of Corrections to identify any other violations.
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