Ricardo Muñiz (second from right) celebrates with his family.

In 2009, Ricardo Muñiz was wrongly accused of assault and imprisoned in Rikers Correctional Facility for two years before being fully exonerated. Notwithstanding his innocence, Ricardo was imprisoned by the City in order to facilitate his deportation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — one of thousands of undocumented New Yorkers trapped by the City’s subsidy and support of unjust federal deportation policy.

On November 22, following years of courageous work by Make the Road New York members, Mayor Bloomberg signed into law Intro 656 to limit the City’s dangerous entanglement with ICE and end the practice of detaining New Yorkers for deportation who have no criminal records. The new law will not only prevent thousands of unjust deportations but will also save tens of millions of NYC taxpayer dollars. (WNYC, Huffington Post)

Thanks to our partners in the New Sanctuary Movement, the Cardozo Immigration Law Clinic, the New York City Council, and supporters like you,Intro 656 will keep thousands of families like Ricardo’s together and promote trust between police and immigrant communities.