Delio Nuñez, a technician living in Queens, dreamed of becoming an American citizen, but he had to report to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Tuesday, November 1st.

Nuñez, who emigrated from the Dominican Republic as a child, is now facing deportation because he was involved in an armed robbery after decades of having a clean record.

"I'm trying to live my life, to do the right thing, and become a citizen," he told the New York Daily News. "I already paid for what I did. It was a stupid mistake; I was hanging out with the wrong crowd."

Immigrant rights advocates estimate that New York spends more than $50 million so that the NYC Department of Correction (DOC) can keep tabs on people like Nuñez at the request of ICE. Recent findings by Justice Strategies, a non-partisan research organization, show that people in DOC custody facing the possibility of deportation are being transferred to ICE, including many legal residents and individuals with no criminal history.

What concerns immigration rights advocates is that New York State has decided to participate in Secure Communities, a program that requires police to check the fingerprints of anyone they arrest against the FBI's database of criminal records and the Department of Homeland Security's database of immigration status. Currently, none of the five boroughs has participated in Secure Communities since it went into effect in May.

"Each year, New York transfers between 3,000 and 4,000 of its residents from DOC custody to the black hole of detention centers," said Javier H. Valdes, deputy director of Make the Road New York, a pro-immigrant non-profit. "The DOC's financial costs are outrageous and put public safety at risk. We urge the city to handle the issue in a balanced and sensible manner."

In response, the City Council held a public hearing on November 10th to examine the process by which the DOC helps deport New Yorkers. Lawyers, legal experts, and immigrants affected by the situation asked the City Council to pass new legislation that would require the DOC to only assist ICE in detaining individuals that pose a serious threat, and that the city have the option to not participate in Secure Communities.

"We all want to live in a safe society; however, Secure Communities goes against what we believe are healthy steps to take," said Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-District 25), the elected chair of the Immigration Committee. "This policy breaks up families and fosters mistrust between authorities and immigrants, who are already afraid of deportation."