Latino leaders rip Local Police Immigration 'deputization' plan

Joining a growing list of protesters, the head of a leading Latino civil rights organization Monday denounced County Executive Steve Levy's proposal to "deputize" Suffolk cops as immigration agents, saying it could set a dangerous national precedent. Cesar A. Perales, president of the Manhattan-based Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund said the Levy plan is already alarming civil rights activists around the country. If local governments follow Levy's proposal to invest police with the powers of immigration agents, "you'll have total chaos," Perales said. "It is a terrible national precedent. I don't think the county executive wants to go down in history as the guy that opened this Pandora's box." Levy fired back in a press statement, saying his proposal remains only an idea under study and is aimed at getting dangerous criminals off the streets and out of the country. [more]