Over the past several decades, the federal government has put a lot of resources into making prisons a pipeline to deportation for non-citizens. Immigration laws from the 1990’s have made it much more difficult for people with criminal convictions to fight deportation, and the presence of ICE in jails and prisons continues to grow. This guide helps non-citizens with convictions who may be facing time or are currently in New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) custody understand how DOCCS and ICE work together, and their options and opportunities to fight deportation.
I collaborated with the Immigrant Defense Project to make complex legal content more accessible. The guide demystifies the obtuse legal processes non-citizens are subject to, and provides easy access to bilingual forms needed to file an appeal of a criminal conviction or to get an appeals lawyer.
Printed copies of the guide will be made available at New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) law libraries so that people already in DOCCS custody can plan and advocate to fight deportation, or understand the ramifications of choosing not to fight their deportation. The guide will also be available through a network of public defenders, locals jails, and Regional Immigration Assistance Centers. You can download the guide here.
Immigrant Defense Project: Mizue Aizeki, Karelle Fonteneau, Ryan Muennich
My role: editing and report design
Special thanks to Colin (Tai Chi) Absolam and Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York