DCAS Special Officers Have Had ‘No Interactions’ With ICE, Agency Says

/

By David Brand

The Department of Citywide Administrative Services said its special officers, who provide security at homeless shelters and other facilities, have had no interactions with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents over the past six years.

In January, a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request revealed that state court officers had aided Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in making at least six arrests at courthouses New York City. The immigration news site Documented filed the FOIL request with the Office of Court Administration.

The Eagle sent a FOIL request to DCAS seeking information about communication and interactions between ICE and DCAS workers, including special officers.

DCAS said there were no such interactions between special officers and ICE since at least 2013, the timespan included in the FOIL request.

“In response to your Freedom of Information Request, copied below, I can advise you that DCAS Police/Special Officers have had no interactions with the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or U.S. Customs and Border Patrol during the specified period,” said DCAS Senior Counsel Alan Deutsch, the records access officer and open data coordinator. “We therefore have no records responsive to your request.”

DCAS also operates the city courthouses and city-owned buildings but did not provide information about interactions between workers other than special officers.