Melinda Katz

A House Judiciary Committee report examines immigration-related practices in New York City district attorney offices. It cites a 2019 Bronx guide on "immigration-conscious plea bargaining" that reportedly advised prosecutors in child sex crime cases to offer pleas to offenses that excluded the child's age as an element, and to keep domestic relationships out of conviction records in abuse cases. In Queens, DA Melinda Katz's office said it modified or vacated convictions for 21 defendants in her first year to avoid unanticipated immigration consequences. The report also notes NYPD has not honored any of nearly 10,000 ICE detainer requests over the past year, and cites a prior ICE review finding dozens of released individuals later rearrested.