NYC Prosecutors Directed to Downgrade Charges to Protect Immigrants from Deportation, House Report Alleges

District attorneys in New York City have instructed prosecutors to downgrade charges and pursue plea bargains that help keep undocumented immigrants in the United States, according to a report by the House Judiciary Committee.

The Republican-led panel found that the offices of Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark and Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz have provided training materials and guidelines to subordinates on how to handle cases involving non-citizens to avoid immigration consequences, including deportation.

According to the report, Clark's office trains its prosecutors to "conceal facts from the record of conviction" and "pursue alternative charges" that would prevent non-citizens from being deported. These directives reportedly extend to cases involving child sex crimes, where prosecutors were advised to "offer something that does not have the child’s age as an element of the crime" to facilitate immigration-conscious plea bargaining.

In Queens, DA Katz's office has reportedly instructed prosecutors to "exercise extreme caution" and not focus on the labels of felonies or misdemeanors when dealing with undocumented immigrants. The report details that Katz's office employs an "immigration specialist" tasked with helping assistant district attorneys navigate plea options that prevent deportation. This specialist reportedly assisted in reducing or dismissing 21 convictions in 2020 alone, and in six cases, Katz allegedly urged then-Governor Andrew Cuomo to grant pardons to prevent deportation.

The House Judiciary Committee's report, titled "NEW YORK CITY: THE DANGEROUS CONSEQUENCES OF SANCTUARY POLICIES," details training materials from March 2023 for Bronx prosecutors that explicitly advise prosecutors to "strive to ensure that a conviction for certain offenses does not lead to unintended and severe consequences such as deportation." The training also suggested pursuing charges for "legally impossible" offenses, which cannot serve as the basis for removal proceedings in federal court.

For weapons offenses, Bronx prosecutors are reportedly instructed to "keep the firearm out of the record of conviction" and "offer something that does not specify a firearm" during plea negotiations. Similar practices are alleged for domestic violence and stalking cases, where prosecutors are told to omit details about the domestic relationship or the repeated nature of the actions.

The report also highlights that the NYPD has received nearly 10,000 detainer requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for undocumented immigrants charged with crimes in the past 12 months, but honored none. Data from the Department of Homeland Security cited in the report indicates that authorities across New York State have ignored over 16,000 detainer requests.

Katz's office initially resisted providing information to the committee, arguing that state prosecutions fall outside congressional oversight. However, after receiving a second letter from committee leadership warning of a potential subpoena, the office complied.

While the report focuses on the Bronx and Queens, it notes similar practices in other boroughs. The Brooklyn DA's office has pursued "immigration-neutral" dispositions since 2017, and the Staten Island DA's office has a unit dedicated to delaying deportations. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's office stated that its immigration policy is outdated but acknowledged that prosecutors still consider citizenship status on a case-by-case basis.

Representatives for the Queens and Bronx DA's offices did not respond to requests for comment on the report.