Zeldin, King Ask For New Immigration Court On Long Island

LONG ISLAND, NY — Rep. Lee Zeldin and Rep. Peter King have joined forces to request a new immigration court on Long Island with an eye toward reducing case backlog and addressing insidious gang violence.

Zeldin and King sent a letter to Director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review James McHenry, requesting he open one of 75 planned new immigration on Long Island, based on the fact that both Suffolk and Nassau Counties rank in the Top 10 counties for the greatest number of pending cases before immigration court, a release said.

Islandwide, there were 23,178 cases as of Dec. 31, 2017, the letter said.

"Furthermore, Suffolk and Nassau County have absorbed a significant number of Unaccompanied Alien Children, with 1,219 being relocated in Nassau County and 1,472 going to sponsors in Suffolk County in 2017," the letter said.

Pending cases contribute to associated gang violence on Long Island as gang members target youth such as UACs, Zeldin and King said.

The letter went on to say that, while serving as Suffolk County’s Police Commissioner, now Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini said, in his testimony to the Committee on Homeland Security, 'of a sampling of 143 active gang members, 89 entered the United States illegally and currently do not have legal status — 39 of whom are UACs — 48 are of unknown immigration status, and 17 have legal status, temporary or otherwise.'”

The court would help "ICE to implement enacted immigration laws," the letter said.

The backlog in immigration courts, both said, has come after "years of policy failures under prior administrations. Effective immigration judge teams are necessary to carry out the U.S. Department of Justice’s statutory responsibility to prosecute administrative immigration cases. Suffolk and Nassau County could efficiently use these resources to address the backlog as well as prioritize incoming cases related to gang violence."

Patch file photos.