Orange County Jail
GOSHEN – Assemblyman David Weprin (D, Queens) says he was “quite
disturbed” after his Committee on Correction toured the Orange County
Jail last month and met with immigration detainees being housed there.
The committee chairman is upset with the detainee housing situation at the jail.
“If their only charge is an immigration violation for either crossing the border illegally or having papers expired, and there are a number of those types of cases; there may be some other exceptions where there might be another crime involved and that’s why they are being detained, but in most cases they are being treated like regular prisoners,” Weprin said.
Sheriff Carl DuBois takes exception with Weprin’s assessment of
the jail and noted it is one of the most accredited facilities in New
York State.
DuBois is also concerned that none of the five state assembly members who represent portions of Orange County where invited to take the tour.
One lawmaker, Republican Assemblyman Karl Brabenec (R, Deerpark), crashed the tour. He said afterwards that the inspection and criticism that followed were a sham.
“In my opinion it’s a total attempt to advance a leftist
political agenda and attack our president and also attack the great men
and women that work for the Immigration and Customs Service and also the
Orange County Sheriff’s Office,” Brabenec said.
Weprin said the president’s Department of Homeland Security and ICE are “incredibly incompetent” based on what his committee observed and heard from talking with detainees in the Orange County and Albany County jails.
“He has no tolerance for any immigration violations. In many cases these were individuals that had been working in this country for many years paying taxes and gainfully employed and for whatever reason, someone reported that they were here illegally or didn’t have the proper green card or had a green card and it expired and other types of violations like that and are basically being like ordinary prisoners, wearing prison uniforms.”
Weprin said it is “time to end this inhumane, unconstitutional and possibly illegal policy.”
