By Udi Ofer and John A. Curr III A version of this column was published in the Buffalo News on March 31, 2011 The Obama administration's "Secure Communities" (S-Comm) program targeting immigrants for deportation threatens basic civil rights and will make New Yorkers less safe. President Obama should drop it altogether. Short of that, Governor Cuomo should withdraw New York from this misguided program.

By Samantha Fredrickson A local ordinance aimed at Latino day laborers, but effectively applying to anyone deemed to be soliciting work while standing near a road, will face a challenge in court this week. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit will hear arguments on March 11 in the lawsuit challenging Oyster Bay’s ordinance that prohibits soliciting employment on public sidewalks.

By Gary Pudup Carlos was brought to the United States from Mexico when he was 11 years old. He quickly overcame the challenge of adjusting to a new country, learning English and flourishing in school. He graduated from a local high school in June, earning an Advanced Regents Diploma and several merit-based scholarships. Carlos, 18, plans to study criminal justice and hopes to become a police officer. He wants serve the community, but his future is uncertain.

By Linda Berns At a recent White House ceremony to naturalize 24 members of the U.S. military, President Barack Obama called on Congress to overhaul the nation's broken immigration system. In his remarks, the president praised U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., for working to forge bipartisan support for comprehensive immigration reform.

By Jose Perez, Barrie Gewanter and Aly Wane On March 21, we joined a busload of Central New Yorkers on a trip to Washington, D.C., where tens of thousands of people rallied for comprehensive immigration reform. We returned home ready to face the usual barrage of falsehoods that poison our national discourse on immigration — myths meant to demonize immigrants and prevent reform.

By Linda Berns Americans across the political spectrum agree that our nation's immigration system is broken. In New York State, up to one million undocumented immigrants are trapped in a system that makes it nearly impossible to attain lawful status, even if they have lived here since they were children, paid taxes and have children who are American citizens.

By John A. Curr III U. S. Sen. Charles Schumer’s leadership on fixing the nation’s broken immigration system is commendable, but his plan would violate core American values of privacy and liberty. President Obama, Congress and New Yorkers ought to reject it. To his credit, Schumer recognizes that tearing apart families and deporting millions of people is impractical and inhumane. Unfortunately, his proposal to establish a biometric worker ID card would greatly expand the government intrusion into Americans’ private lives and likely kill immigration reform.

By Samantha Fredrickson Oyster Bay’s “Standing While Latino” law is more evidence why we must urge the federal government to pass just and humane comprehensive immigration reform. The local law, which passed unanimously in September, makes it a crime to seek employment on a public sidewalk. Workers or contractors caught violating the law are subject to a $250 fine.

By Samantha Fredrickson Imagine being stopped by police and fined $250 for waving your arms on the sidewalk. It could happen in Oyster Bay. Last month, the Oyster Bay Town Board enacted a local ordinance making it a crime to stand on a public sidewalk and solicit employment. The law targets day laborers, who are often Latino immigrants, but it affects all of us.

By Christopher Dunn and Donna Lieberman — In the aftermath of the attack on the World Trade Center, people of all walks of life in this country united in the fight against terrorism. In the last eight weeks, however, the Bush Administration has undermined that unity with an unprecedented assault on the United States Constitution that threatens the basic values that lie at the core of our society.