The man you see (indistinctly) in the photo above is Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., who spoke before a packed crowd at the Women’s National Republican Club last night on a variety of subjects. Although the invitation I responded to billed the evening as a discussion of sanctuary cities, Vance did not address the topic until prompted by an audience member during the question and answer session, approximately 40 minutes or so after he began speaking.

I can’t say I was surprised by his reluctance to address the subject, despite its topicality. The New York County District Attorney’s office is charged with the prosecution of those who violate the laws of New York State. Those who violate federal law are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York-a point Mr. Vance emphasized when I pressed him on a recent decision to release a violent, self-declared member of MS-13 who was in this country illegally from prison.

That said, his office does occasionally come into contact with illegal immigrants through their encounters with the New York Police Department, which he implicitly acknowledged when he spoke of protecting the status of those who had been victims of crimes while residing in this country illegally. Putting aside the circular logic of this argument, i.e. aren’t predatory criminal aliens, such as the illegal day laborer who murdered acclaimed actress and director Adrienne Shelly, protected under the same umbrella sheltering domestic abuse victims, there is another objection to be raised. Namely, there is already a federal program, known as the U Visa, which ostensibly protects these individuals.

The idea that New York City needs to codify policy which directly conflicts with federal law in order to protect the safety of those in this country illegally is the height of absurdity. To the contrary, these directives actually imperil the lives and safety of those they ostensibly seek to protect-as well as the lives of American citizens-as those criminal aliens who abuse and terrorize their partners and children are given blanket immunity for crimes which would otherwise place them in the deportation pipeline and out of the reach of those whose lives they have destroyed. In fact, after Mr. Vance’s talk had concluded, a (legal) immigrant shared a personal anecdote with me about a hairdresser whose husband had attempted to suffocate her to death, but was allowed to remain in this country-illegally, naturally-even after being brought to the attention of the relevant authorities.

It should be said in Mr. Vance’s defense that he stated categorically that illegal aliens who had committed violent crimes should be deported, which is a far cry from Mayor De Blasio’s stance. However, it’s worth noting that the Manhattan DA is a political post, which is dependent upon the will of the voters, which in this case happened to be a group of New York Republicans. Just as his avowal of support for stop and frisk might have been downplayed before more progressive venues, it’s possible that he might have temporized even more on this subject if speaking to a group like the National Council of La Raza, or the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus.

Overall, the audience was surprisingly receptive to DA Vance’s message, which in retrospect probably shouldn’t have been that surprising. The Republican Party of New York City, but particularly the desiccated husk of a party which still exists in Manhattan, is run primarily by the Rockefeller and Lindsay Republicans who once exercised real power in this city and state. Adele Malpass, who delivered some introductory remarks before Cyrus Vance stepped up to the podium, praised the District Attorney’s efforts to kill a bill which would have prevented the arrest of innocent New Yorkers carrying gravity knives. I’m sure the GOP mainstay who asked him later in the evening what he was doing to crack down on gun dealers appreciated this bold stance against individual rights, but I was left rather unimpressed.

For what it’s worth, I thought the event was worthwhile, despite my many disagreements with Mr. Vance, including his apparent belief that compulsory voting, along the lines of Australia, could serve as a civic inducement. Having a public official willing to submit himself to cross-examination, however circumscribed, by the public is increasingly rare and worthy of praise. Hopefully, the officials responsible for some of the problems we encounter in this city on a daily basis will embrace this willingness to engage the public, but I won’t be holding my breath.

Update: Seth Barron, of City Council Watch, has an invaluable op-ed in the New York Post exploring why this law is so galling.

As most of you probably know by now, the verminous members of the New York City Council have enacted yet another law intended to allay any fears the thousands of criminal aliens residing in the Big Apple may have about potential deportation. In this case, the bill would forbid cooperation between the Department of Correction and NYPD and federal immigration officials when an illegal alien has been detained in the City. Refusing to honor immigration detainers is a goal for which open borders fanatics have lobbied political officials for several years.

Prepare to hear more stories of police officers and civilians ruthlessly murdered by these privileged aliens, although don’t expect any expressions of remorse or regret from figures like Donna Lieberman. Admitting that you cheered the passage of a bill which will result in the deaths of innocent people-even if they are Americans-is not something that sounds good in a political sound bite, however much spin you put on it.

Unfortunately, Intro 656 has been signed into law by friend and ally of illegal aliens,  Michael Bloomberg. I’ll let Joanna Marzullo, of New York ICE, inform you of the disturbing details.

Hi, New York ICers. Happy Thanksgiving!

Unfortunately, it is during holidays such as this that traitorous politicians try to sneak controversial legislation past us.  They do this because they figure Americans are going to be too distracted with the holidays to get upset. Such is the case with Bloomberg, who very expectedly, and sneakily, signed Intro 656 into law yesterday. 

 I am including links towards the end of this email, one about Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, who supported and voted for Intro 656 and has been arrested for his opposition to Arizona’s SB 1070.  Most recently, Ydanis was arrested in NYC’s Zuccotti Park during Occupy Wall Street.

Our good friend Joanna Marzullo, the president of New Yorkers for Immigration Control and Enforcement (NY ICE), has suggested that concerned citizens voice their displeasure with Speaker Christine Quinn for even considering such a reckless measure. Here’s her advice for fighting this proposed law:

When I was on The Ruthie Report recently, I mentioned that illegal aliens, indeed, have families-in their home countries! So we, the people of the U.S., want to reunite illegals with their families in their home countries. This is a useful sound bite that gets to their knee jerk lie that we want to separate illegals from their families.

Remember, Christine (the “Corrupt”) Quinn is the *Speaker* of the NYC Council.

For NY ICers interested in attending NYC Council meetings pertaining to Intro 656, the NYC Council will likely announce its meeting dates on its website and in the City Record.

 Here are 2 actions for NY ICers to take to oppose Intro 656:

1.  Christine’s District is District 3, whose zip code is 10011.  However, members should still call Christine’s Office at the phone number below even if you are not in her district, because she is the Speaker for the Council.   You should frame this as an issue of public safety. You should also say that the NYC Council will be held liable and accountable for crimes perpetrated by released Riker’s illegal aliens.  Contact Christine’s staffer, Mikaela Miller, at 212.564.7757 ext 104 TO OPPOSE Intro 656.  Note what Mikaela says will happen after your call.

2.  In addition to calling Speaker Christine Quinn, call your specific councilman.  N.B.  If you do not know who that is, visit the NYC Council’s website.

Keep fighting! 

I have some incredibly disturbing news to report to you today that entails gutting an effective program involving the collaboration of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and the New York Department of Corrections. As many of you might know, one of the best means of apprehending and deporting criminal aliens is consistent cooperation between federal immigration authorities and local law enforcement agencies.

The programs that exist to effectuate this end, Secure Communities and the much more robust 287(g), have been the single best tool in our arsenal capable of frustrating the intentions of criminal aliens who repeatedly flout our country’s criminal statutes and exploit the generally lax enforcement of immigration law. They have prevented repeat offenders from foreign countries from further victimizing innocent American citizens, and have served as a deterrent to illegal aliens who might be planning on perpetrating crimes in the future.

The fact that New York State’s Department of Corrections has buckled in the face of threats by immigration lawyers and “civil rights advocates,” which in this case means open borders lobbyists such as the ACLU and would more accurately be described as members of the Treason Lobby, is yet more evidence that those in power do not take this threat seriously. Or at least, do not take it as seriously as the threat of potential lawsuits by petty drug offenders. Now, even though ICE has a liason working inside of Riker’s specifically to identify criminal, illegal aliens who are eligible for deportation, it will only be allowed to track those inmates who agree beforehand to be interviewed, which according to the NY Post article amounts to less than thirty percent of those aliens currently serving jail-time.

There are a number of aspects to this story that are exasperating to those of us who have followed the horrible sanctuary city policy instituted by former Mayor Ed Koch and reaffirmed by his successors in office, but I think the most troubling aspect is the fact that it allows criminals to determine whether or not they’re going to cooperate with this country’s law enforcement agencies. People who have willfully violated this nation’s laws, and whose first acts in this country were laced with deception, are essentially being placed on the honor system. I can’t think of a more bizarre state of affairs; it relies upon people whose chief means of survival in the United States is perpetual fraud and deception to be truthful and forthcoming with the federal immigration agency that seeks their removal from this country.

This change also confirms what most of us knew to be true from the inception of the phony debate surrounding measures like Secure Communities. Namely, that the opponents of law enforcement against criminal aliens do not want anyone to be deported from this country, even if the persons being targeted are criminals with an extensive violent history, up to and including assault, rape, and attempted homicide. The canard that ICE or state lawmakers are targeting “nonviolent” offenders whose only crime is being in this country illegally-which, incidentally, is a crime-should not hold any water after the decision made by the New York Corrections Department, which effectively amounts to a de facto amnesty for criminal aliens. The fact that the treason lobby has applauded a decision that will make our streets less safe, and endanger the lives of ordinary New Yorkers-among other American citizens-merely serves to illustrate their deeply skewed, rigidly anti-American priorities.

One final note: the difficulties we face in deporting criminal aliens who’ve overstayed their welcome in this country predate the current political climate. In order to get an idea of the scale of the problem, I highly recommend you check out The Deporter, a fantastic, yet horrifying, nonfiction work by someone who worked as a deportation agent in New Orleans during the first decade of this century. It will give you an inkling of how dangerous the criminal aliens we’re releasing into the general public are, and should serve as a reminder of how grave the threat posed by these lawbreakers is; the people we’re setting loose are not “hard-working” immigrants. In fact, they’re not immigrants at all, they’re violent, criminal aliens who should be treated as such. This is a mistake whose consequences we’ll have to live with for some time to come, although I doubt the fools who precipitated this decision will recognize the harm they’ve inflicted upon the American populace.