The two candidates for Putnam County sheriff spoke to the Journal News editorial board today, and spent time debating which of them would work more closely with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Neither one believes that the much publicized 287(g) training — provided by ICE to local officers — is the answer. But both made clear they wanted to work closely with ICE to help identify criminal suspects with a questionable immigration status.

You can see a video of the discussion here by clicking the “on demand” button at the bottom of the Editorial Spotlight video screen.

Before they got onto this issue, Republican Sheriff Don Smith was asked what his department had done to overcome language barriers in Putnam, particularly on the topic of DWI. He responded that the department has worked with a county liaison — Community Affairs Director Patricia Perez — to communicate with Spanish speakers. But that position was eliminated in the recent budget passed by the county legislature. (Unless the position is restored, she will be out by the end of the calendar year.) Smith went on to talk about immigration enforcement.

Democratic challenger Kevin McConville faulted the department for not doing  further outreach to the immigrant population. He said there was not even a single sign in the immigrant enclave of Brewster/Southeast that addressed DWI or other issues, and promised to reach out through church and civic organizations to develop trust between the sheriff’s office and the community.

Neither candidate mentioned, as we reported in July, that the Putnam Sheriff’s Office, an agency with 141 officers, has only two Spanish-speaking deputies. Four Spanish-speakers serve as correction officers.

On the immigration-enforcement question, McConville said he would provide ICE with an office in the Sheriff’s department, so that an ICE agent would be available to work with any law enforcement agency in the county.

Smith said he’d welcome an ICE agent working in the Putnam jail, as in Westchester and Suffolk, but said the volume of work in Putnam wouldn’t justify it.

Smith had been blasted by Republican opponents who favored the 287(g) program. By contrast, McConville noted that the program was faulted by the GAO and others for its lack of standard procedures. The program, now being revamped, is still opposed by advocates out of concern over racial profiling and damaged community relations.

Smith seemed  pleased to agree with McConville on something, saying, “You’re probably my first opponent to recognize that 287(g) was not an effective program.”

(Photos: Sheriff Donald Smith, top, and challenger Kevin McConville. By Robert F. Rodriguez/The Journal News)

I just spotted a Twitter from journalist Pilar Marrero on a commercially sold “illegal alien” costume, available at Target and other outlets. This one includes an orange jumpsuit and a space-alien mask, and a green card. I guess the joke is open to interpretation, but given the serious problems in the immigrant detention system, I wouldn’t expect everyone to laugh.

Reminds me of the scandal two years ago after a Halloween party at ICE, where an employee showed up in dreadlocks, prison stripes and dark makeup and said he was a Jamaican detainee who had escaped. The costume won a prize for most original.

CNN is following up on Hispanic Heritage Month with a “Latino in America” series Oct. 21-22, and some advocacy groups are responding with a pointed message: You can’t have it both ways — You can’t expect us to tune in and still allow Lou Dobbs to spread falsehoods about Latino immigrants on prime time.

America’s Voice and Media Matters plan to run an ad on CNN next week  as part of the Drop Dobbs campaign. It runs through the show’s coverage of conspiracy theories about Obama’s birth, an imaginary North American Union, and a supposed plan for Mexicans to reclaim the American southwest as Aztlan. Media Matters has compiled a fact-check about the show, and its claims about illegal immigrants, here.

The Basta Dobbs campaign is circulating this video by Arturo Perez, which mentions the common claim, echoed locally by New York Assemblyman Greg Ball, that about a third of prisoners are illegal aliens. We fact-checked that claim on the state level here and at the national level here. (The actual percentage is 6 percent if you include all noncitizens, whether legally or illegally present in the United States.)

More than 20 people, including several children, attended an immigration reform vigil in Carmel yesterday. The event coincided with one in Washington D.C. where thousands descended upon the capital calling for a renewed push in reform.

The peaceful Carmel gathering, sponsored  by the Hudson Valley Community Coalition and the lower Hudson Valley chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union, was meant to spark the attention of local representatives to take action. The vigil was held outside the office of Rep. John Hall.

For more on the story, check it out here.

Meanwhile, here are some photos I took of the vigil.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez is scheduled to outline his forthcoming immigration-reform bill tomorrow as part of a rally and vigil tomorrow in D.C.  The Illinois Democrat will be joined by New York Dems including Reps. Nydia Velazquez, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair, and Yvette Clarke, according to the National Immigration Forum.

Locally, pro-reform advocates are holding a vigil at 5 p.m. in Carmel, Putnam County. It’s sponsored by the Hudson Valley Community Coalition, joined by the New York Civil
Liberties Union, and will be held at the Old County Courthouse, 40 Gleneida Ave.

Part of the message is intended for Democratic Rep. John Hall, whose office is at that site. Families will demonstrate “to show the President and our leaders in Congress such as John Hall that they need to listen and respect our communities, and show us progress on immigration reform,” according the press release from the coalition.

The timing is considered key. Advocates want Congress to take action before the mid-term election cycle. Sarah Thomas Maldonado, an immigration attorney in Scarsdale, NYC and Stamford, Conn., writes, “It is time to stand up for the values of our nation and demand a humane workable immigration system from Congress and the President.”

More from the coalition’s announcement:

Our families and communities are suffering because of the inaction of politicians. Our communities are being demonized and victimized by politicians and talk-show hosts.  The need and moral imperative is urgent. The President and Congressional leaders repeatedly stated that America should not be tearing families apart but should be solving problems. They need to be reminded of their promises.

The 21-year-old man convicted of a 2007 cross-burning in Cortlandt is in jail again on probation violations. Rebecca Baker and Brian Howard have a story in today’s Journal News. Westchester prosecutors say the FBI and Secret Service considered him a security threat during President Obama’s stay in Manhattan after linking him to online hate speech.

Click here for the story.

(Photo: Joe Larese/The Journal News)

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced changes to the detention system today. The department is still talking about alternatives to the growing use of detention centers, now in a bit more detail. DHS  is promising that Immigration and Customs Enforcement will pay closer attention to detainees’ health, circumstances and treatment. Among the steps:

• Having ICE headquarters handle contracts with detention centers, rather than handling them through various field offices.

• Giving detainees some kind of risk assessment that determines where they should be held. “ICE will pursue detention strategies based on assessed risk and reduce costs by exploring the use of converted hotels, nursing homes and other residential facilities,” says the press release.

I don’t see any specific mention of alternatives like the use of electronic bracelets. But DHS reportedly will send a plan to Congress about the use of such alternatives.

Amnesty International is among the organizations that have criticized the U.S. treatment of detainees. The organization issued a statement calling for concrete changes:

Amnesty International is encouraged by Secretary Napolitano’s decision to find new environments for immigrants that will not require prison jumpsuits and jail cells.  However, without a change in law, thousands of immigrants will continue to be arbitrarily deprived of their liberty…

The immigration detention system is a crutch that sustains a shattered, inept and inhumane enforcement policy.   It is a pitiable substitution for smart immigration policies. A significant reform of the entire system is desperately needed now – not tomorrow.

An alleged illegal immigrant gets arrested for drunken driving and heading the wrong way on the Taconic Parkway. Henry Garcia told police he worked at the Olympic Diner as a busboy. Diner owner Michael Skirianos claims Garcia never worked there.

Here’s Skirianos talking about what impact the incident has had on his diner: http://www.lohud.com/article/2009910050328

Ghada Karmi, a Palestinian physician and renowned author, will be in Ossining Thursday night to discuss the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The speaking tour coincides with the release of the second-edition of her 2002 memoir “In Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story.”
Karmi was born in Jerusalem but forced to leave in 1948. She was raised in Britain. She will be at the Ossining Public Library, theater room, at 7 p.m. Thursday.