No US deportation for petty matters

LIKE OTHER UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS, Bajans living in York City may soon be spared the agony of deportation to their birthplace for committing petty civil offences.

That’s going to happen when a legislative measure signed into law last year by Mayor Bill de Blasio becomes effective in the five boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx and Staten Island this month.

Called the Criminal Justice Reform Act, the measure will give police greater flexibility in issuing summonses to wrongdoers, including undocumented immigrants, for such things as sitting in a park after closing time, urinating in public or drinking alcohol on the street.

“For too long, one small wrongdoing came with a huge cost, taking a large toll on New Yorkers’ lives and opportunities,” complained the mayor. (TB) 

Please read the full story in today’s Daily Nation, or in the eNATION edition.