skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Saturday, April 20, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Tribal advocates keep up legal pressure for fair political maps; 12-member jury sworn in for Trump's historic criminal trial; the importance of healthcare decision planning; and a debt dilemma: poll shows how many people wrestle with college costs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Civil rights activists say a court ruling could end the right to protest in three southern states, a federal judge lets January 6th lawsuits proceed against former President Trump, and police arrest dozens at a Columbia University Gaza protest.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural Wyoming needs more vocational teachers to sustain its workforce pipeline, Ohio environmental advocates fear harm from a proposal to open 40-thousand forest acres to fracking and rural communities build bike trail systems to promote nature, boost the economy.

Cuomo Urged to Pull NY Out of Program

play audio
Play

Wednesday, May 11, 2011   

NEW YORK - Clergy members and immigration advocates will hold a vigil today in front of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Manhattan office, calling on Cuomo to end New York's participation in a controversial Homeland Security program.

The program, "Secure Communities" or "S-Comm," requires local law-enforcement agencies to forward the fingerprints of every arrested person to federal immigration databases.

Diane Steinman, co-chair of the New York State Interfaith Network, says the state has a moral obligation to get out of Secure Communities because it leads to increased racial profiling by law enforcement as well as other social ills.

"It leads to deportations that shatter the lives of immigrants and families. It fans flames of bigotry and hate. At the same time, it makes New Yorkers less safe and secure."

Earlier this week, 38 state lawmakers sent a letter to Cuomo, urging him to remove New York from the program. In response, a spokesperson for Cuomo said the governor is reviewing the matter.

Lisa Sharon Harper, executive director of New York Faith and Justice, believes the program betrays the values of New Yorkers.

"As New Yorkers, we have a heritage of welcome. This policy does everything but that, and so we're calling on the governor to follow the lead of Illinois' governor and opt out of S-Comm."

Harper also cites practical concerns for police departments across New York because the federal program uses up manpower and scarce local resources.

"They are using up that time, the energy and the expertise of local law officers to deport people instead of using that time to actually protect our streets."

Last week, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn became the first to pull his state out of the program, saying it had strayed from its goal of going after serious offenders.

The vigil is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at 633 Third Ave.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The Bureau of Land Management's newly issued Public Lands Rule is designed to safeguard cultural resources such as New Mexico's Chaco Culture National Park. (Photo courtesy SallyPaez)

Environment

play sound

Balancing the needs of the many with those who have traditionally reaped benefits from public lands is behind a new rule issued Thursday by the Bureau…


Health and Wellness

play sound

Alzheimer's disease is the eighth-leading cause of death in Pennsylvania. A documentary on the topic debuts Saturday in Pittsburgh. "Remember Me: …

Social Issues

play sound

April is Financial Literacy Month, when the focus is on learning smart money habits but also how to protect yourself from fraud. One problem on the …


Outdoor recreation added $11.7 million to the Arizona economy in 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Arizona conservation groups and sportsmen alike say they're pleased the Bureau of Land Management will now recognize conservation as an integral part …

play sound

Across the U.S., most political boundaries tied to the 2020 Census have been in place for a while, but a national project on map fairness for …

The 2023 Annie E. Casey Foundation Data Book ranked Arkansas 37th in the nation for education, and said 56% of young children were not in preschool programs to help get them ready for school. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

The need for child care and early learning is critical, especially in rural Arkansas. One nonprofit is working to fill those gaps by giving providers …

Environment

play sound

An annual march for farmworkers' rights is being held Sunday in northwest Washington. This year, marchers are focusing on the conditions for local …

Social Issues

play sound

A new Gallup and Lumina Foundation poll unveils a concerning reality: Hoosiers may lack clarity about the true cost of higher education. The survey …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021