New Yorkers are stepping up pressure on Gov. Cuomo to back out of an immigrant fingerprint-

sharing program-just like the Illinois governor. States who take part in Secure Communities

automatically send to Homeland Securities the fingerprints of everyone who is booked.

The Federal Government says the program is to find and deport dangerous criminals,

opponents say the program sweeps up low-level offenders and even domestic violence victims.

“The time is now for Gov. Cuomo to take a stance,” said Sunita Patel, staff attorney at the

Center for Constitutional Rights. “Individuals who have been victims of domestic violence have

been deported because of Secure Communities.”

A dozen religious leaders held a vigil outside Cuomo’s office urging him to follow Illinois Gov.

Pat Quinn’s lead and yank New York State out of the program. A Cuomo spokesman said the

administration is reviewing the program, which has been rolled out in 24 New York counties but

is yet to be active in any of the five boroughs of New York City.

NIGERIA AND FRANCE NEGOTIATE A NEW IMMIGRATION AGREEMENT.

Nigeria and France have begun a process of improved partnership on immigration to ensure

balance in the exchange for Nigerian professionals working in France. Nigeria’s envoy to

France, Ambassador Gordon Bristolm, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in

Paris that the development was in line with the EU-Africa immigration cooperation pact on

unified migration policy.

According to him, “A situation where our professionals are taken away from us by developed

countries including the EU without anything given in return is not a fair proposition. When the

negotiation starts, we have to ensure that whatever agreement we reach takes into account

our own national interests.”

British Metropolitan Police Ordered to Pay Damages to Nigerian Immigrants.

The British Metropolitan Police has been ordered to pay damages to four women for failing to

investigate allegations that they had been forced into slavery. The women who arrived in

London from Nigeria as children, said they were beaten and emotionally abused by the families

they were forced to work for, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported.

The High Court said the women were “victims of the failure to investigate.” The Metropolitan

Police argued it could not carry out an investigation because the women would not cooperate,

but the court dismissed this as untenable.

73-year Old Babysitter Stranded in America After 12-years of Slavery.

Mrs. Marthina Okeke, a 73-old widow, grabbed the offer of traveling to the United States to

serve as a nanny. That hope of greener pasture was quashed when she discovered that she was

lured to serve as a slave for a Nigerian family.

For 12 years, she served her masters not knowing that not even a dime was remitted to

her family in the village, Arondizuogu, Imo state, Eastern Nigeria. She escaped and was rescued

by a non-governmental organization, Africans in America(AIA), which is a non-profit

organization raising awareness on issues affecting African immigrants in the United States.

The old lady is stranded but she is determined to return home to spend the rest of her life with

her family.

Olakunle O. Bolarinwa,

Is a Nightline Family Member Of The Voice Of America {VOA}.

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