Bill Text: NY A00636 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Prohibits disclosure of immigration status for victims of domestic violence.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 15-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2023-12-22 - enacting clause stricken [A00636 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A00636-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           636

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 11, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  ROZIC, EPSTEIN, REYES, SAYEGH, CRUZ, JOYNER,
          TAYLOR,  HYNDMAN,   LAVINE,   L. ROSENTHAL,   SIMON,   GLICK,   STECK,
          DE LOS SANTOS -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes

        AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, the social services law, the
          family court act and the executive law, in relation to maintaining the
          confidentiality of immigration status for victims of domestic violence

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1.  Subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (b) and  paragraph  (c)  of
     2  subdivision  4 of section 140.10 of the criminal procedure law, subpara-
     3  graph (ii) of paragraph (b) as amended by chapter 107  of  the  laws  of
     4  2004  and paragraph (c) as amended by chapter 4 of the laws of 1997, are
     5  amended to read as follows:
     6    (ii) The respondent or defendant commits a family offense  as  defined
     7  in  subdivision  one of section eight hundred twelve of the family court
     8  act or subdivision one of section 530.11 of this chapter in violation of
     9  such order of protection or special order of  conditions.    An  officer
    10  making  an  arrest  under  this subparagraph shall not inquire as to the
    11  immigration status of the person whom  the  order  protects.    If  such
    12  status  is  ascertained  and  would result in adverse immigration conse-
    13  quences to such person, the officer shall not report such information to
    14  any local, state or federal law enforcement agency.
    15    (c) a misdemeanor constituting  a  family  offense,  as  described  in
    16  subdivision  one  of  section  530.11  of this chapter and section eight
    17  hundred twelve of the family court  act,  has  been  committed  by  such
    18  person  against  such  family  or  household  member,  unless the victim
    19  requests otherwise. The officer shall neither inquire as to whether  the
    20  victim  seeks  an  arrest  of such person nor threaten the arrest of any
    21  person for the purpose of discouraging requests for police intervention.
    22  The officer shall also not inquire as to the immigration status  of  the
    23  victim;  nor shall such officer, if informed of such status, report such

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02524-01-3
        A. 636                              2

     1  information to any local,  state  or  federal  law  enforcement  agency.
     2  Notwithstanding  the  foregoing, when an officer has reasonable cause to
     3  believe that more than one family or household member has committed such
     4  a  misdemeanor,  the officer is not required to arrest each such person.
     5  In such circumstances, the officer shall attempt to identify and  arrest
     6  the  primary  physical  aggressor after considering: (i) the comparative
     7  extent of any injuries inflicted by and between the parties; (ii) wheth-
     8  er any such person is threatening or has threatened future harm  against
     9  another  party  or another family or household member; (iii) whether any
    10  such person has a prior history of domestic violence  that  the  officer
    11  can  reasonably ascertain; and (iv) whether any such person acted defen-
    12  sively to protect himself or herself  from  injury.  The  officer  shall
    13  evaluate each complaint separately to determine who is the primary phys-
    14  ical  aggressor  and  shall  not  base  the decision to arrest or not to
    15  arrest on the willingness of a person to testify  or  otherwise  partic-
    16  ipate in a judicial proceeding.
    17    § 2.  Subdivision 2 of section 530.11 of the criminal procedure law is
    18  amended by adding a new paragraph (j) to read as follows:
    19    (j) That any information regarding the petitioner's immigration status
    20  shall  be  kept confidential and will not be referred or reported to any
    21  local, state or federal law enforcement agency.
    22    § 3.  The criminal procedure law is amended by adding  a  new  section
    23  2.25 to read as follows:
    24  § 2.25 Prohibitions on law enforcement agencies and peace officers.
    25    A  law  enforcement  agency of the state or a political subdivision of
    26  the state or a peace officer may not inquire as to  the  nationality  or
    27  immigration  status  of  a victim of or witness to domestic violence, as
    28  such terms are defined by  section  four  hundred  fifty-nine-a  of  the
    29  social services law, except as necessary to investigate the offense, nor
    30  shall  such  officer  report or refer such status to any local, state or
    31  federal law enforcement agency.
    32    § 4.  Section 459-h of the social services law is amended by adding  a
    33  new subdivision 3 to read as follows:
    34    3.    All information related to a victim of domestic violence's immi-
    35  gration status shall be kept confidential and shall not be disclosed for
    36  any purpose, including such investigations that may be conducted by  any
    37  local, state or federal law enforcement agency relating to said individ-
    38  ual's immigration status.
    39    §  5.  Subdivision 2 of section 812 of the family court act is amended
    40  by adding a new paragraph (h) to read as follows:
    41    (h) That any information regarding the petitioner's immigration status
    42  shall be kept confidential and will not be referred or reported  to  any
    43  local, state or federal law enforcement agency.
    44    §  6. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 844 to read
    45  as follows:
    46    § 844. Inquiry into immigration status prohibited in  certain  circum-
    47  stances.  In  conducting  an investigatory activity, including an inter-
    48  view, into any incident of domestic violence, as such term is defined in
    49  article six-A of the social services law, a law enforcement agency or  a
    50  law  enforcement  official  shall  not  inquire about or seek proof of a
    51  person's immigration status, nor shall such officer, if informed of such
    52  status, refer or report any findings regarding such status to any local,
    53  state or federal law enforcement agency.  Any  information  obtained  in
    54  such  investigatory  activity  regarding  a  person's immigration status
    55  shall be kept confidential.
        A. 636                              3

     1    § 7. This act shall take effect immediately, provided that the  amend-
     2  ments  to  subdivision 4 of section 140.10 of the criminal procedure law
     3  made by section one of this act shall not  affect  the  repeal  of  such
     4  subdivision and shall be deemed repealed therewith.